Question to a psychologist 

Jerboas (photo): Frisky jumpers with long tails. The desert biome is the driest of the planet's terrestrial biomes.

Classification

Latin name: Dipodidae

Highest classification: Dipodoidea

Rank: Family

Class: mammals

Squad: rodents

Kingdom: Animals

Type: chordates

Suborder: murine

About how other animals adapt to the environment, it is written in the article

Jerboas are capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 km / h. Their run is accompanied by three-meter jumps, and this distance exceeds the length of the body of the animal itself by 20 times. The legs of these animals are quite remarkable and the hind limbs of some species are twice the length of their spine.

Habitat

The jerboa is common in areas with a hot and temperate climate. Their habitat covers Mongolia and North Africa, Central, Minor and Western Asia, Kazakhstan and the south of Eastern Europe, as well as the territory stretching from the northeast of China to the south of Siberia.

Most varieties of jerboas are adapted to living conditions in the desert and semi-desert, and only a few of them can live in the steppe, like in the forest zone and in the highlands, located at a distance of 2 km above sea level.

Burrow device

And the furry-legged, and the long-eared, and the big jerboa - they are all tireless workers. They constantly dig holes, which can be conditionally divided into 4 main types:

  • rescue, the depth of which reaches 20 cm;
  • daytime - up to half a meter long;
  • permanent - with the main inclined course and spare, which are blind, their animal lays very close to the surface;
  • wintering quarters are equipped in a special way - they have pantries where the steppe animal hides supplies, and a wintering chamber, which is located at a depth of about 2 meters.

Interesting! When someone starts digging a permanent hole, the jerboa will immediately hide in one of the spare ones, tightly closing its roof!

The jerboa lives in a separate chamber, which is located in the far part of the hole. He lines his nest with fine grass

Jerboa Meaning

For the desert biocenosis, jerboas are of great importance. In the course of their life, these rodents affect the vegetation and soil in their habitat.

These animals have many natural enemies, among them, for whom they are a source of food.

But the role of the jerboa is not always exclusively positive. They are capable of causing damage by destroying the vegetation that strengthens the sands, and damaging the crop of cultivated plantings.

Since the jerboa looks pretty cute, it is difficult to assume that it is capable of becoming the causative agent of such a dangerous disease as the plague.

And this is not the only disease that this steppe animal is a carrier of.

Nutrition

Jerboas feed mainly on vegetation. They use seeds and rhizomes, which they first dig out of the soil, leaving conspicuous holes in their place.

Depending on the place of residence and conditions, this animal can eat insects and their larvae.

A jerboa eats about 60 g of various foods per day.

It is noteworthy that he does not drink water, the animal receives liquid from plants. The rodent lays very long feeding passages and in one night, in order to saturate, it can cover a distance of 11 km.

reproduction

In spring and summer, jerboas breed. In one year, the female is able to bring from 1 to 3 litters, each of which has from 1 to 8 babies.

The gestation period lasts about 25-42 days. The female always gives birth in a hole in an individual nest.

The cubs are born blind and look like newborn rats.

When the body weight of a small jerboa reaches 200 g, it begins to gradually move to an independent life.

Babies are under the care of their mother for quite a long time - about 1.5 months. During this period, they grow up and gain weight up to 125 g. The cubs leave the hole fully formed, but move a little more clumsily.

Young jerboas are quite friendly and get along well next to each other. But after reaching three months, aggression begins to be traced in their behavior. This pushes the young to resettle.

Unlike, for example, squirrels, domestication for a jerboa is stressful. They are very long and hard to get used to the conditions of captivity and the person.

These animals are very difficult to make contact. This behavior is due to the fact that such a rodent prefers to lead a nocturnal lifestyle, and becoming a pet, he has to be active during the day.

And even in the case when a connection is established between a person and an animal, the latter still remains wild.

The home jerboa needs space where it can stay active. For him, physical activity is important and a person must take this into account. If this condition is neglected, then the animal will experience discomfort, which will lead to hypodynamia and even death.

A domestic jerboa should prepare a large enclosure, not only long and wide enough, but also high enough so that it can jump.

It is highly undesirable to put plastic objects in the nest, the same applies to the pallet. Otherwise, the animal will gnaw through it with its sharp teeth and run away.

Several individuals cannot be kept in one cage at once, since a conflict will certainly arise between them. At the bottom of the enclosure, it is desirable to lay a bed of turf and sand. A hard bottom can cause injury.

Vegetation should always be in the cage of a domestic jerboa: dry grass, roots, small brushwood. Of these, he will build his nest, as is usually the case in the wild.

A jerboa needs turf bedding in an aviary so that it can dig holes, even small ones. Otherwise, the animal may experience stress, which will develop into a nervous breakdown.

A domestic jerboa is not allowed to be let out of the cage - at the slightest opportunity, it will certainly run away.

In the diet of this steppe animal, special grain mixtures, cereals, fruits and vegetables should be present: sunflower seeds, potatoes, dandelion roots and leaves, apples, pears, melon seeds, beets.

In winter, thin shoots of maple, willow and aspen should be thrown into the aviary. Insects will supplement the diet: butterflies, crickets and mealworms.

Jerboas: Swift jumpers with long tails

Jerboas are the only rodents that move exclusively on their hind legs. Surprisingly, these mammals walk like humans, leaning on each leg in turn.

The desert biome is a collection of hot and arid terrestrial biomes of the planet. It includes habitats that receive negligible rainfall, typically less than 500 mm per year. The desert biome occupies almost 1/5 of the Earth's surface and affects various regions of the world. Depending on the geographical location, climate, aridity and air temperature, 4 main types of deserts are distinguished: arid, semi-arid, coastal and cold deserts.

Although deserts are by nature very diverse, they share some common characteristics. The diurnal temperature variation in desert regions is much more extreme than the diurnal temperature variation in wetter climates. The reason for this is that moist air buffers the day and night temperatures, preventing sudden changes. But dry desert air heats up easily and quickly during the day, and cools down just as quickly at night. The low humidity in deserts also means there is no cloud cover to keep the heat in.

The amount of rainfall in deserts is also unique. When it rains in dry areas, the precipitation often falls in a relatively short period of time, separated by long periods of drought. In some arid deserts, raindrops sometimes evaporate before falling to the ground. Soils in deserts experience little weathering, are coarse in texture, and have good drainage.

They are perfectly adapted to the arid conditions in which they live. Most of the desert flora are small in height and have stiff leaves that conserve water. Characteristic plants of the desert biome include yuccas, agaves, shrubs, and cacti.

Key Features

The following are the key characteristics of the desert biome:

  • little precipitation (less than 500 mm per year);
  • significant difference between day and night temperatures;
  • high evaporation rate;
  • loose soils;
  • drought tolerant vegetation.

Classification

> Desert Biome

The desert biome is divided into the following habitats:

  • Arid deserts are hot, dry regions found at low latitudes throughout the world. The air temperature in arid deserts is warm all year round, although it is hotter in summer. There is very little precipitation, and often the rate of evaporation exceeds moisture. Arid deserts are found in North America, Central America, South America, Africa, South Asia, and Australia. These include the deserts: Sonoran, Mojave, Sahara and Kalahari.
  • Semi-arid deserts are regions of the world with less hot and dry climates than arid deserts. They are characterized by long hot summers and relatively cool winters with little rainfall. Semi-arid deserts are found in North America, Newfoundland, Greenland, Europe and Asia.
  • Coastal deserts are commonly found in the western parts of the continents between 23°N and 23°S (also known as the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn). In these regions, cold ocean currents run parallel to the coast and produce heavy fogs that drift over the deserts. Although the humidity of coastal deserts can be high, rainfall levels remain quite low. Examples of coastal deserts include the Atacama Desert (Chile) and the Namib Desert (Namibia).
  • Cold deserts are deserts that have low temperatures and long winters. They are found in the Arctic, Antarctic and above the mountain-forest belt. Many areas of the tundra biome can also be classified as cold deserts. This type of desert is characterized by more precipitation than the previous three. A classic example of a cold desert is the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia.

Animal world

Some of the animals that inhabit the desert biome are:

  • Desert kangaroo jumper (Dipodomys deserti)- a species of rodent from the genus kangaroo jumpers that lives in the deserts of southwestern North America, including the Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin deserts. The diet of desert kangaroo jumpers consists mainly of plant seeds.
  • Coyote (canis latrans) - a predatory animal from the canine family that inhabits a wide range of habitats throughout North and Central America. Coyotes are found in deserts, grasslands, and prairies throughout their range. The coyote preys on a variety of small animals such as rabbits, rodents, lizards, deer, moose, birds, and snakes.
  • California ground cuckoo (Geococcyx californianus)- a bird from the cuckoo family, living throughout the year in the deserts and semi-deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. They are swift-footed birds that can outrun humans and use that speed, along with their strong beaks, to catch prey, which includes lizards, small mammals, and birds.
  • colorado toad (Incilius alvarius)- a species of toad that inhabits the semi-deserts, shrubs and meadows of southern Arizona at an altitude below 1700 meters above sea level. With a body length of over 17 cm, this is one of the largest toad species found in North America. The Colorado toad is nocturnal and most active during the monsoon season. During drier periods of the year, toads remain underground in the burrows of rodents and other animals.