Mid-day Jird

About the Mid-day Jird

The midday jird (Meriones meridianus), also called midday gerbil, is a rodent species in the family Muridae and native to sandy deserts in Central and East Asia. It has been listed on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern since 2008.

The midday jird is a medium-sized species with a head-and-body length of 95 to 134 mm (3.7 to 5.3 in), a tail of a similar length, and a weight of 30 to 60 g (1.1 to 2.1 oz). The upper parts are pale yellowish-grey, drab or darker brown, the hairs having blackish bases. The underparts are white with a light brown strip across the chest. The tail is brown or ochre above and slightly paler below. The claws are white, and the soles of the hind feet are densely hairy so that no bare skin is visible.

The midday jird's range extends from Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia to Afghanistan, Mongolia and western China. Its lives in sandy deserts, alluvial plains and especially arid sandy areas in hilly deserts with a scattering of scrub up to an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft).

It is a common rodent in the Aralkum area, where it has colonised the dried sea bottom. Wikipedia →