Salpingotus pallidus
pallid pygmy jerboa

Salpingotus pallidus, the pale pygmy jerboa, is endemic to Kazakhstan, where it occupies two distinctly isolated desert habitats. The first is the Northern Aral Sea where it is found in the Aral Karakums, and the Great and Small Barsuki regions. They are also found in the southern Lake Balkhash area where they occur in scattered, widely distributed populations. (Nowak, 1999; Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas inhabit northern sandy semi-deserts with sparse sod-forming grasses. Specific habitats vary regionally. In the Aral Karakums, they are found in areas with dense wormwood-cereal vegetation where the sand forms small hills or mounds. Tn the Great Barsuki area they are found on level ridges characterized by areas of clumped but dense vegetation that grows between 40 and 50 cm high. This vegetation is composed of sand wormwood (Artemesia arenaria), goat’s wheat (Atraphazis spinosa), Siberian couch grass (Agropyron sibiricum), gray wormwood (Artemisia glance), feather grass (Stipa joannis), and euphorbia (Euphorbia seguieriana). In the southern Lake Balkhash area they are found in a wider variety of sand types. These include ridged or mounded sand areas and depressions between small hillocks or ridges. The vegetation in these areas is composed mainly of wormwood but also includes sand sedge (Carez physodes) and old-world winter fat (Eurotia ceratoides). (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

The southern Lake Balkash area is located at about 350 m above sea level and the Aral Karakums is at about 55 to 118 m about sea level. (Copyright (C) International Lake Environment Committee, 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas are small rodents, with an average body length of 55 mm. They have large heads, almost as large as their bodies. They have relatively large eyes and a broad snout in comparison to the size of the head. The tail is long, being almost twice the length of the body and averaging 104.8 mm. The end of the tail is sparsely covered with white hairs in all females and in some males. The tails of males have a black end brush that is 2.5 to 3 times longer than those of the females. This is their only known sexually dimorphic trait. Fur coloration is characterized by light grey or beige fur. They have a broad dorsal stripe that starts as a light yellow grey color but gets darker as it extends down the back. Fur on the muzzle, neck, belly, legs, and feet is white. Pale pygmy jerboas, and other three-toed pygmy jerboas are distinguished by the three toes on their hind feet. Their hind legs and tails are long to help them jump. The length of the hind foot averages 22.7 mm, almost half the length of the body, while both the front feet and limbs are much shorter as they are not used when walking or running. Males can be distinguished with penile morphology, characterized by the coverage of small spines of uniform height. Other differences include thickness of the incisors, the distance between the angular and coronoid processes in the mandible, and the width of the ascending branch of the mandible. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas have a maximum lifespan of 2.5 years in the wild. In captivity they live slightly longer, with a maximum lifespan of 3 years. Cause of death has not been well studied but predation rates and parasite loads are low, so it is likely that they die of disease or old age. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas hibernate during the winter months and are nocturnal. They begin their activity period shortly after sunset and remain active for most of the night in early spring and all night during the warmest months. When they leave their burrows for the night, they first poke their heads out, go back in, and repeat this behavior several times before actually leaving. Then, when they do leave, they bathe themselves by sitting on their hind feet and cleaning themselves with their front paws as well as rubbing their bodies with sand. The grooming process lasts about 10 minutes. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas use bipedal saltation as their method of locomotion. This is characterized by small jumps 3 to 5 cm in length for normal foraging, to 20 cm jumps during a fast run. This is a type of locomotion is found in many desert rodents and is thought to be beneficial because, although it often wastes energy, it allows an animal to move quickly, change direction rapidly, and even jump up to avoid predators like snakes. This is important in desert environments where there is little cover. Pale pygmy jerboas can climb bushes and stems of plants by holding on to them with their front paws, teeth, and tail. (Prakash and Ghosh, 1975)

Home Range

Pale pygmy jerboa territory sizes have not been well established. However, they follow the same pattern or route every night in their individual territories and do not venture outside of it, except perhaps during the breeding season. Pregnant females will travel 190 to 210 m from their burrows during the course of a night. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas respond strongly to vocalizations and are believed to use sound as a primary method for communication. They have well-developed ears and large eyes, which is a trait common in nocturnal animals. They are likely to have good vision in low light and use their vision and sense of smell and touch to navigate and find food. (Prakash and Ghosh, 1975)

The pale pygmy jerboa diet is almost entirely made up of insects and seeds. In the spring insects make up about 60% of their diet, in summer months seeds comprise 70% of the diet. Commonly eaten seeds are Carex physodes, Eremopyron oreintale, and Menocus linifolius. Pale pygmy jerboas also eat the dead bodies of lizards, birds, and other small rodents when they find them. Vegetation and bulbs comprise about 1 to 2% of their diet. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

No predators of pale pygmy jerboas are reported. It is worth noting that the length of the foot matures more quickly than the body in juvenile pygmy jerboas, allowing them to rapidly acquire the ability to jump and run well. This could be the result of the need to forage at a younger age, an anti-predator adaptation, or both. Moreover, when pale pygmy jerboas are threatened, they will hide under bushes or bury themselves under the sand. Their nocturnal habits and cryptic coloration also help to protect them from predators. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas have multiple ecosystem roles, as do most animals. They effect their ecosystem primarily through diet and burrowing patterns. They are predators of small insects and seeds of Carex physodes, Eremopyron oreintale, and Menocus linifolius, in addition to other species. They also eat carrion occasionally. They also impact their ecosystem by competing with other, sympatric rodents, such as gray hamsters (Cricetulus migratorius), northern three-toed jerboas (Dipus sagitta), and midday gerbils (Meriones meridianus). Their burrowing activities may also impact vegetation communities. The effects of parasites and disease have not been studied in this particular species, but in Salpingotus crassicauda parasite loads were not substantial. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas have no negative impact on humans. (Prakash and Ghosh, 1975)

Salpingotus pallidus and related jerboas provide no known benefits for humans. (Shenbrot et al., 2008)

Pale pygmy jerboas are considered data deficient by the IUCN because little is known about their population trends. Population sizes are small, fluctuate yearly, and populations are fragmented. They are considered rare in some parts of their range. More research is needed on population status to assess their conservation risk.