Marsupial jerboa. Lifestyle and behavior

Genus: Antechinomys Krefft, 1867 = Marsupial jerboas

Representatives of the genus Marsupial jerboas are small in size. Body length 8-11 cm. Tail length 11-12 cm. Externally similar to jerboas. Males are larger than females. The hind limbs are greatly elongated. The forelimbs are quite well developed. The tail is long, with a large tuft of dark hair at the end. The muzzle is elongated and pointed. The ears are large, rounded at the tops. The first digit on the hind limbs is missing. Hairline long, thick and soft, grayish, whitish below. On the sides of the head, through the eye, there is usually a dark stripe. In addition to the muzzle, there are unusually long vibrissae on the wrists. During the breeding season, the brood pouch opens backwards and is well developed. Nipple 6-8.

They live mainly in sandy deserts and semi-deserts. Predators that feed on insects and small vertebrates. They move by jumping, and when moving they rely on their forelimbs. Activity is crepuscular and nocturnal. They spend the day in deep holes.

Distributed in central regions and in eastern Australia. Few in number everywhere.

There are two species in the genus:

View: EAST AUSTRALIAN MARSPAL JERBAE (Antechinomys laniger)

Inhabits dry savannas Eastern Australia and rocky or sandy areas of the Central Australian Desert.

These are strictly nocturnal animals. Insectivores, but on occasion they attack small lizards and rodents; in captivity they feed exclusively on meat.

The usual number of young is 7. The pouch is poorly developed and opens backwards.

Antechinomys laniger Gould, 1856 = East Australian marsupial jerboa (Photo by P.A.Wooly & D.Walsh)

Found from southern Queensland to north-west Victoria.

The numbers of the East Australian marsupial jerboa are so low that they are in danger of becoming extinct. Behind last years it was found in approximately ten places in the territory bounded by 30 and 33 degrees S latitude. and 146 and 148 degrees east. The species is included in the Red Book.

Species: Antechinomys spencer Thomas = Central Australian marsupial jerboa The CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN marsupial jerboa (Antechinomys spencer) inhabits the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Australia. It feeds on insects and small vertebrates. Moves by jumping, leaning on the forelimbs. Spends the day in deep holes.

The promiscuity of mothers benefits the offspring

Australian biologists have shown that polyandry (crossing a female with many males) dramatically increases the viability of offspring in marsupial mice. The offspring of females who mated with multiple males lived much longer on average compared to the offspring of females who mated with only one male. This effect is explained by the fact that sperm selection occurs in the female reproductive tract, and sperm with “better” genes have a greater chance of fertilizing the egg.

Australian marsupial mice (Antechinus stuartii)- perhaps the most “sexually horny” animals in the world. During the rutting season, each female mates with many males, and the male mates with many females, with each sexual act lasting from 5 to 14 hours. The orgy continues until all the males literally die from exhaustion. After this, for some time there are no living males left in the population of this species - only pregnant females.

Australian zoologists decided that marsupial mice could be a good model object for elucidating the biological meaning of polyandry. This term refers to a widespread behavior of females in the animal kingdom, which consists of a female mating with not one, but several males before producing offspring.

Previously, polyandry was studied mainly in insects. A number of experiments have shown that the offspring of females mated with several males have a higher average life expectancy. In addition, it turned out that if a female mates with males who are related to her in varying degrees, then the sperm of the most distant relatives have the greatest chance of fertilizing the egg.

The mechanism of selection of competing sperm in the female reproductive tract is not yet precisely known. In some cases, apparently, immunological means are used for this purpose, making it possible to distinguish “us” from “strangers”. In a number of species, most sperm do not even try to fertilize the egg, since their function has become the hunt for “foreign” sperm (the so-called “sperm wars”).

To explain the positive effect polyandry has on the health of the offspring, two hypotheses are usually used: 1) the “good genes” hypothesis (those sperm that carry the most “high-quality” genes are selected, regardless of the genetic characteristics of the female) and 2) the “suitable genes” hypothesis (sperm with genes that form the most favorable combination with the genes of a given female are selected). These two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive: when choosing a sperm, both parameters can be taken into account simultaneously. The preference for “unrelated” sperm found in some insects is well explained by the second hypothesis. Only the first hypothesis was tested on marsupial mice. To exclude “related” effects, experimenters selected pairs of marsupial mice in such a way as to avoid inbreeding.

In the first series of experiments, it was possible to show that the offspring of those female marsupial mice that mated with several males are characterized by increased viability compared to the offspring of females who had only one (randomly chosen by the experimenters) sexual partner. In the first case, there was a decrease in “infant mortality” and an increased survival rate of already grown animals, which scientists tagged and released into the wild.

To test whether these results could be explained by the “good genes” hypothesis, the scientists conducted the following experiment. Each male mated sequentially with four females. Other males also mated with the first three of them, but the experimenters deprived the fourth of this opportunity. Then a genetic analysis of the offspring of the first three females was carried out, during which scientists found out which males’ sperm had the greatest “success”. After this, the life expectancy of the offspring of the “fourth” females was compared with the “success” of the sperm of their only partner. A clear direct correlation has emerged: the more competitive the sperm of a given male is, the longer (on average) his offspring from any female lives. Thus, the “good genes” hypothesis was completely confirmed. The authors emphasize that their results do not contradict the “suitable genes” hypothesis; this hypothesis was simply not tested in their experiments. Marsupials are, of course, not the most typical mammal species with regard to sexual behavior, and it is not entirely clear whether these results can be generalized to other animal species and to humans. There are no experimental data of this kind on humans and are not expected (for obvious reasons). However, it should be noted that among our closest relatives, chimpanzees, polyandry and “sperm wars” are a very typical phenomenon. This is precisely what primatologists associate with the abnormal big sizes testes of chimpanzees (compared, for example, with gorillas, which practice a harem system, and females willy-nilly remain faithful to their “master”). As for humans, in their anatomical and behavioral parameters they are clearly closer to chimpanzees than to gorillas.

Our planet is amazing and rich in diversity of incredible representatives of living things! Carnivorous, herbivorous, poisonous and harmless - they are our brothers. The task of man is to treat the animal world with care, to know and respect its laws. After all, some species are so unique that they have inhabited the Earth since ancient times! Today we will talk about just such an animal. His name is jerboa. It has been known since the Oligocene period (33.9 - 23.03 million years ago). Scientists suggest that the ancestors of modern jerboas emerged in Asia about eight million years ago. From there they spread to North Africa and Europe. But in Europe the jerboa has become completely extinct.

Description of the jerboa

Small, mouse-like mammals. They are representatives of the order of rodents. There are about 50 species in nature. The most famous include: African, five-fingered, big jerboa, marsupial, long-eared, hairy-legged, fat-tailed, as well as the jumping jerboa.

Appearance

Externally, jerboas resemble either a kangaroo or a mouse. The head is large relative to the body, with an almost indistinguishable neck. Round, slightly flattened muzzle with large dark eyes. Big eyes allow you to capture a greater flow of light information. Huge fan-shaped vibrissae. This main body sense of touch in many animals. As a rule, they have long and rounded ears, which carry the function of heat transfer and reception of auditory information. The hair on the ears is sparse.

• Body length: from 4 to 26 cm.
• Tail length: from 6 to 28 cm.
• Weight: from 10 to 300 grams.

The body is short. The hind limbs are much longer than the front ones, which is necessary for active running. The animal uses short forelimbs with sharp, elongated claws for digging holes and manipulating food. The fur is thick and soft. Color ranges from sandy to brown, mostly monochromatic. There is a light color on the belly.

This is interesting! The jerboa's tail may contain a reserve of fat necessary to maintain the body during hibernation or during periods of lack of food.

The tail has a flat tassel at the end, which acts as a kind of rudder when moving. Individual characteristics of color and limb structure depend on the species and habitat. For example, the color and size of the body as a whole or its individual parts change.

Lifestyle and behavior

Jerboa nocturnal beast. Wary to such an extent that after sunset it leaves its hole only an hour later. Searches for food all night, going up to 5 km away. And in the morning, exactly an hour before sunrise, they return to the shelter. Such reinsurance often saves lives. However, there are species that are active and search for food during the day, and at dusk they rush to their house underground.

One type of housing is summer. With separated rooms covered with grass. Often, practical animals make a “back door” in their underground apartments and, if threatened, escape through it.

In winter, the animal goes into hibernation, which lasts up to six months. A hibernation hole differs from a regular “living” hole. It is located much deeper, reaching 2.5 meters. Some species store food reserves for the winter, while others store them directly within themselves, in the form of fat.

This is interesting! Jerboas are real builders. These hardworking animals build more than one house for themselves. They have summer and winter holes, permanent and temporary, a hole for hibernation and holes for the birth of offspring.

Also these incredible creatures There can be houses for permanent and temporary stay. Permanent houses always have an entrance covered with a clod of earth. This peculiar corridor is quite long deep into the interior.

Next, as a rule, a branch appears leading to the living room, in which the surface is covered with grass and there is a place for a “bed” in the form of a ball of wool, moss, feathers - all suitable materials collected on the surface. Several unfinished passages already lead from it to the surface. They are necessary in case of emergency evacuation.

Among the jerboas there are those who, instead of building their own house, “rent” it from the gophers. The jerboa contacts its relatives only during mating season. You can call him a loner. This is one of the strategies that are used for survival by different representatives of the flora.

Some stay in a group and survive, having a developed system of communication and coherence among themselves. And some, on the contrary, prefer to develop individually, passing on the genes of the most adapted, fastest, invulnerable, cautious and intelligent to the next generation. And if the individual turns out to be clumsy, slow or inattentive, then it dies. This ensures the survival of the species.

How long do jerboas live?

However, diseases, the influence of natural conditions and predators shorten this time significantly. In captivity, lifespan increases significantly. Average life expectancy in wildlife no more than 3 years.

Range, habitats

What is worth envying other animals among jerboas is their prevalence in completely different conditions life. They live on almost all continents, where there are steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. These regions include North Africa to the south of the Sahara, south of Europe, Asia north of the Himalayas.

However, jerboas can be found even in forest-steppes and mountainous areas. Some subspecies live even at an altitude of up to 2 thousand meters above sea level. In Russia you can find some representatives of the genus: the large jerboa, the small jerboa, the jumping jerboa, the common emur, the bushy jerboa and the five-fingered jerboa.

Jerboa diet

The daily food intake for a jerboa is 60 grams. Their diet includes seeds and roots of plants, which they obtain by digging holes.

They enjoy eating insect larvae. They love to feast on fruits, cereal grains, and vegetables. Jerboas practically do not drink water! All moisture comes from plants.

Important! The tail of a jerboa says a lot about the state of health and nutrition. If it is round, then the animal eats well and regularly. The tail is thin, with protruding vertebrae, indicating exhaustion.

Diet consists mainly of seeds and plant roots. Their jerboas dig out, leaving holes. Insects and their larvae are also eaten. The animals practically do not drink water. They get moisture from plants. During the night, in search of food, one rodent can travel up to 10 km along its food trails.

One animal requires 60 g of various feeds per day. This population has big influence on the soil and vegetation of deserts, semi-deserts and steppes, and also serves as food for local predators. At the same time, animals can spread dangerous infectious diseases, including the plague.

Infraclass - Marsupials / Order - Carnivorous marsupials / Family - Carnivorous marsupials

History of the study

The marsupial jerboa (Antechinomys laniger) is the only species of the marsupial jerboa genus.

The marsupial jerboa was first described in 1856 by the English ornithologist John Gould, who included it in the genus of mousebirds. The species was subsequently classified within the genus Sminthopsis until molecular studies confirmed that the species belonged to a distinct genus of marsupial jerboas, or Antechinomys, which was described in 1867 by Australian zoologist Gerard Krefft.

In the past, the genus of marsupial jerboas was often divided into two species: Antechinomys laniger (or East Australian marsupial jerboa) and Antechinomys spenceri (or Central Australian marsupial jerboa). The latter of these has recently been reclassified to subspecies status. The Latin word laniger means "woolly".

Spreading

Pretty marsupial jerboas rare view, found in the arid regions of Australia. In recent years, the animal's range has declined sharply. Small populations in the Cedar Bay area of ​​Queensland and southern New South Wales are now extinct.

Marsupial jerboas are found on desert plains covered with clayey sediments or desert crust; limited populations live in the salt marshes.

Appearance

The body length of the marsupial jerboa is 7-10 cm, and the length of the tail reaches 10-15 cm. Weight - 20-30 g; males are larger and heavier than females. Distinctive features marsupial jerboas have elongated four-toed hind legs and protruding ears. The color of the upperparts ranges from yellowish-gray to sandy brown; bottom is white. The hairline is long and thick.

Reproduction

The breeding season of jerboas lasts from winter to spring. The brood pouch in females develops during the breeding season; it opens backwards and has 6-8 nipples. The brood consists of 3 to 6 cubs, born in the fall. The cubs are fed milk for three months. Sexual maturity in the species occurs after a year.

Lifestyle

The animals are active mainly at night. They are hermit animals, and only in autumn and winter periods They gather in common nests, which helps save energy. They spend daylight hours in deep burrows. Females with young do not tolerate the presence of males. They are a terrestrial species. Nests are built near tree stumps or near rocks. When there is not enough food, it can fall into torpor.

Nutrition

Jerboas are usually insectivorous (eg locusts, beetles), but on occasion they can attack rodents and small lizards; in captivity they feed on meat. The accepted food fully covers the need for water.

Number

Marsupial jerboas are a rare species that are found in arid areas in Australia. IN Lately The animal's range has been greatly reduced. And small populations that lived in Queensland and southern New South Wales are now extinct.