Williams's jerboa
Allactaga williamsi
Mohammad Amin Ghaffari · Garmi, Ardabil Province, Iran
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Seeds, insects, green plant parts
- Status in Georgia
- Presence to be confirmed
- Size
- Body 10.2–14.6 cm, tail 16.7–25.5 cm, 54–143 g
- Habitat
- Semi-desert, dry mountain steppe, up to 2,500 m
- Family
- Dipodidae
- Conservation
- LC / DD
Williams's jerboa is a larger relative of the small five-toed jerboa: it weighs up to 143 g and its tail reaches 25 cm. It lives mainly in Anatolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran, in semi-desert and dry mountain steppe. In Georgia it is known only from the southeast, from the Eldari and Chachuna valleys. Its presence in the country is uncertain and needs new confirmation. If you see a large jerboa in these places at night, a photo would be especially valuable.
Identification
Williams's jerboa: how to identify it
A long-legged rodent with large ears that hops on its hind legs. The back is brownish ochre, the flanks and belly pure white. The long tail ends in a flat, three-coloured tuft. It is most easily confused with the small five-toed jerboa, which is smaller and greyer.
The body is 10.2–14.6 cm long, the tail 16.7–25.5 cm, the ear 3.8–5.1 cm and the hind foot 6.1–7.4 cm. It weighs 54–143 g, and males and females are almost the same size.
The head and back are brownish ochre, the flanks and belly pure white. The tail tuft is wide and flat: a bright ochre ring about 2 cm long, a black section of 4 cm and a white tip of 2 cm.
The undersides of the hind toes are covered with short, soft white hair, while the small five-toed jerboa has naked toes. The small five-toed jerboa weighs up to 77 g and has a sandy-grey back. Both have been found in the Eldari valley, so compare size, colour and the tail tuft on a photo.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It lives mainly in semi-desert and dry mountain steppe, but also climbs to subalpine meadows, up to about 2,500 m. It adapts to many kinds of ground: semi-stabilised sand dunes, rock outcrops and saltwort patches. It favours patches of sparse sagebrush and grass. It also lives in disturbed places if enough natural habitat remains, but is not normally found on ploughland. In Georgia it has been found in the Eldari and Chachuna valleys.
It eats mainly seeds and insects, and to a lesser extent green plant parts and bulbs. In spring it feeds more on insects and green parts, in summer on various plant parts and in autumn on seeds.
It is nocturnal: it comes out 1.5–2 hours after sunset and returns to its burrow before dawn. It hibernates from November to February. The burrow is simple: a single tunnel 90–200 cm long ending in a nest chamber 20–80 cm deep. It plugs the entrance with soil, and some burrows have an emergency exit. In Turkey it is a frequent prey of the long-eared owl. Breeding has been recorded from late March to June and from August to October. Gestation lasts 25–30 days, and a litter has 2–8 young. A female that has survived the winter can have two litters a year. In captivity, animals kept together fight fiercely, sometimes to the death.
Globally Williams's jerboa is rated Least Concern (LC, 2016). Its range is wide and its total population large, though densities are low. It is common in parts of Azerbaijan but has become rare in parts of Turkey and has disappeared from some places there. The main threat is the conversion of steppe to ploughland. In Georgia the 2021 national assessment rates it Data Deficient (DD), with an unknown population trend, and its presence in the country is considered unconfirmed.
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Possibly. It has been found in the southeast, in the Eldari and Chachuna valleys, and southeastern Georgia lies within its range. Its presence in the country is still considered unconfirmed, though. That is why every photo taken in these places is valuable.
Williams's jerboa is larger, 54–143 g, with a brownish-ochre back and a bright ochre base to the tail tuft. The small five-toed jerboa weighs up to 77 g and has a sandy-grey back. The hind toes differ too, but that shows only in the hand, so compare size and colour on a photo.
Mainly seeds and insects, and less often green plant parts and bulbs. In spring it eats more insects, in autumn more seeds. It looks for food at night.
Not globally: it is Least Concern (LC, 2016). In parts of Turkey, though, it has become rare and has disappeared from some places as steppe was turned into ploughland. In Georgia it is Data Deficient (DD).
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
