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Allactaga
The genus ''Allactaga'' contains the four and five-toed jerboas of Asia.〔Holden, M. E. and G. G. Musser. 2005. Family Dipodidae. pp. 871–893 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.〕 They are small mammals belonging to the order of rodents.〔Duff, A. and A. Lawson. 2004. ''Mammals of the World A Checklist''. New Haven, Yale University Press.〕〔Nowak, R. M. 1999. ''Walker's Mammals of the World'', Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.〕 They are characteristically known as the hopping rodents of the desert and semi-arid regions. They have long hind feet, short forelimbs, and walk upright.〔Lagassé, Paul. "Jerboa." ''The Columbia Encyclopedia''. 6th ed. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 October 2013.〕 They have large ears in comparison to their body size and a large tail. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright.〔Kirmiz, John P. ''Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man''. London: Butterworths, 1962. 17. Print.〕 The jerboa body length ranges from 5-15 cm and has a tail ranging from 7-25 cm.〔("Jerboa (rodent)" ) ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 12 October 2013.〕 The "forelimbs of the jerboa serve as a pair of hands for feeding, grooming, etc."〔Kirmiz, John P. ''Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man''. London: Butterworths, 1962. 29. Print.〕 Jerboas use their nose to burrow and push the dirt when looking for food.〔Miljutin, Andrei. ("Trends of Specialisation in Rodents: The Five-Toed Jerboas, Subfamily Allactaginae (Dipodoidea, Rodentia)." ) Acta Zoologica Lituanica 18.4 (2008): 228-39. Taylor & Francis Online. 23 July 2012. Web. 7 October 2013.〕 The male jerboa is usually larger in size and weight in comparison to the female jerboa.〔Kirmiz, John P. ''Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man''. London: Butterworths, 1962. 19. Print.〕 The pelt of the jerboa is either silky or velvety in texture and light in color,〔 the coloration helps camouflage into surroundings to avoid predators. All members of the genus have five toes except for a single species, the Four-toed Jerboa, ''Allactaga tetradactyla'' of Northern Africa.
== Adaptation to desert conditions ==
Jerboas are adapted to live in deserts therefore are called xerocole animals. They are nocturnal and spend most of their day burrowed under sand to avoid the heat.〔Hearst, Michael, and Jelmer Noordeman. "Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of the Earth's Strangest Animals". ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 2012. Print. 〕 Burrowing under the sand, they evade the heat from the sun, minimizing water loss and avoiding dehydration. By decreasing activity during the day they require less water intake. The jerboas build large burrow systems, underground tunnels, to stay in during the day. These underground burrows have a higher moisture concentration than at the surface level and help reduce body water loss.〔 Specific species of jerboas plug burrow entrances with soil to retain moisture and keep hot air from entering burrows.〔 The pelt of the jerboa is usually light and sandy in color to reflect heat from the sun and reduce heat absorption.〔Rundel, Philip Wilson; Gibson, Arthur C. (30 September 2005). "Adaptations of Mojave Desert Animals". Ecological Communities And Processes in a Mojave Desert Ecosystem: Rock Valley, Nevada. Cambridge University Press. pp. 132–138. ISBN 9780521021418.〕
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