Charlie Blum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>what is a Jird?
Jird is a North American word meaning "large desert rodent". Most native
peoples do not have different words for different types of rodent, much
as most European rodents are to most people simply mice. Hence Wood
Mouse, Harvest Mouse, Dormouse etc, all of which are quite different
animals.
Today, the term is usually used by scientists for animals belonging to
the genus Meriones. This is one of the fourteen genera that make up the
gerbils. There are usually considered to be fourteen species in the
genus Meriones. This includes The Mongolian Gerbil (M. unguiculatus)
which we all keep as pets (and is sometimes called The Clawed Jird by
scientists), The Shaw's Jird (M. shawi) and The Persian Jird (M.
persicus).
There are also some larger gerbils from North Africa that also are known
as Jirds. One of these is The Bushy-Tailed Jird (Sekeetamys calurus)
which has a genus all of its own.
So the term Jird can mean various things. Most importantly, when people
in the UK say Jird they normally mean a Shaw's Jird as these are the
most common gerbil species kept as a pet after the Mongolian Gerbil. In
the US they usually mean a Bushy-Tailed Jird because they are much more
common as pets that any other species of Jird other than the Mongolian
Gerbil.
There is more information on these and other species, along with plenty
of pictures at:
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/gerbils/other.htm
--
Julian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
National Gerbil Society
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
