📸 PhotoPhoto: Elias Neideck · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Lesser Egyptian Jerboa
Jaculus jaculus (Lesser Egyptian Jerboa · Lesser Egyptian Jerboa)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 73 g is slightly heavier than an egg (about 60 g) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its tail reaches up to 25 cm, more than twice its head-and-body length (about 11 cm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Lesser Egyptian Jerboa is a small rodent living in deserts from North Africa to Arabia and Central Asia, hopping on its long hind legs.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its hind feet are 5–7.5 cm long with three toes, and a tuft of hair at the tip of its long tail helps it keep balance when leaping.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Active alone at night, it eats roots, tubers, grass seeds, grains, nuts, and insects, obtaining moisture from its food without drinking water separately. A single leap can carry it several meters.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2021) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10912/197517244
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1001989
- • iucnredlist.org — 197517244
- • wikidata.org — Q920382
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Jaculus jaculus.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Jaculus jaculus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Maija Karala · CC BY 3.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.