Order Rodentia - Family Muridae Author Wilson, Don E. Author Reeder, DeeAnn text 2005 The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2 1189 1531 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Gerbillus (Gerbillus) gerbillus (Olivier 1801) [Gerbillus (Gerbillus)] gerbillus (Olivier 1801) , Bull. Sci. Soc. Philom. Paris, 2: 121 . Type Locality: Egypt , Giza Province . Vernacular Names: Lesser Egyptian Gerbil . Synonyms: Gerbillus (Gerbillus) aegyptius Desmarest 1804 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) aeruginosus Ranck 1968 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) asyutensis Setzer 1960 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) discolor Ranck 1968 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) foleyi Heim de Balsac 1936 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) hirtipes Lataste 1881 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) longicaudus (Wagner 1843) ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) psammophilous Ranck 1968 ; Gerbillus (Gerbillus) sudanensis Setzer 1956 . Distribution: From SW Jordan and S Israel through Egypt , N Sudan ( Yalden et al., 1996 ) and Djibouti to Morocco and SW Mauritania ; also N and S Mali , N Niger , and N Chad (see Aulagnier and Thevenot, 1986 ; Corbet, 1978 c ; Dobigny et al., 2002 b ; Granjon et al., 2002 b ; Harrison and Bates, 1991:283 ; Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov, 1999 ; Osborn and Helmy, 1980:131 ; Pearch et al., 2001 ; Qumsiyeh, 1996 ). Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Discussion: Subgenus Gerbillus . Geographic portions reviewed by Ranck (1968 , Libya ), Corbet (1978 c ) , Lay (1983) , Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska (1991 , Algeria ), Osborn and Helmy, 1980 , Egypt ), Djibouti ( Pearch et al., 2001 ), Saleh and Basuony (1998 , Sinai Peninsula), Qumsiyeh (1996 , Israel and Jordan ) and Harrison and Bates (1991 , Arabian Peninsula). Meinig (2000) reported G. gerbillus from an isolated sand-belt in S Mali . In 1983, Lay drew attention to the lack of inquiry into variation in this species, which has such an extensive range; that complaint stands today and the species needs careful taxonomic review. The form hirtipes was synonymized with G. gerbillus by Cockrum (1976 a ), but because of his inadequate documentation, Lay (1983) was reluctant to accept this union. Cockrum's evidence is scanty, but we are swayed by Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska's (1991) argument for merging hirtipes with G. gerbillus . Lay (1983) listed aegyptius as incertae sedis , but Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951) and Corbet (1978 c ) placed it in the synonymy of G. gerbillus . Lay (1983) also treated longicaudus as incertae sedis , but Cockrum and Setzer (1976) quoted Thomas as having seen the holotype in Munich and identifying it as G. gerbillus . The origin of multiple sex chromosomes in this species was discussed by Wahrman et al. (1983) ; karyotype (2n = 42/43, FNa = 72) similar in samples from Niger , Mauritania , Algeria , Tunisia , Morocco , Israel , and Egypt (see references in Dobigny et al., 2002 b ). Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990) , who also treated the above-listed taxa as synonyms. Ecology and aspects of membership in small mammal community of coastal SW Mauritania reported by Granjon et al. (2002 b ) .