Pygmy Jerboa

Last week we looked at the worlds largest rodent so this week will look at the smallest rodent, this is the Baluchistan pygmy jerboas it is also known as dwarf three-toed jerboas, they are native to the arid regions of southeastern Pakistan — Baluchistan.

 Adults average only 4.3 cm’s (1.7 inches) in head and body length, with the tail averaging eight cm’s (3.1 inches). Adult females weigh only 3.2 grams (0.11 ounce). At birth newborns weigh an average of 0.48 grams (0.017 ounces).  But the tiny body doesn’t hold it back, for they can jump up to over 9 feet, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The colour of the fur matches with the colour of their environment, providing camouflage, so it’s usually beige, yellow or brown in colour.

They have a mouse-like head with large eyes and whiskers and small ears. As they live in the desert, a small flap of skin is present to prevent sand from entering their ears and nose. Their hind legs, which are designed for hopping, are four times larger than their short front feet. Its back legs have five toes, but the middle three are fused. That, and the fact that the Baluchistan Pygmy Jerboas are the smallest of the 33 species of the Jerboas gave them the name “the dwarf three-toed jerboa”. 

Don’s let its small size fool you. It’s incredibly resilient, and it has to be to survive in Baluchistan — one of the world’s harshest desert environment, and one that decimated Alexander the Great’s army. There is hardly any water and daytime and nighttime temperatures vary significantly. They live in burrows generally excavated under small bushes and feed on windblown seeds, succulent leaves of desert-adapted vegetation, and various dead animals such as other rodents and lizards. When plants dry up, they dig up roots of desert plants and eat them.

They may appear cute and defenceless, but their teensy size helps them do much more than just look adorable. From climbing across delicate branches while hunting for insects to dodging predators by hiding in thin crevices, their petite frames work to their advantage.

They are nocturnal creatures that move through the dry using long hops, balancing themselves with their tail.

 

They can slow down their respiration and blood circulation dramatically — a process called facultative hypothermia — that helps them make the most of their low nutritional diet. Animals that prey on them include the leaf-nosed vipers, trans-Caspian monitor lizards and sand cats

The pygmy jerboa hopped into the spotlight when it became a viral YouTube sensation in 2010, looking like a cross between a mouse and a baby kangaroo