A Study of Rodent’s Fauna of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the Southeast of Iran with Emphasis on their Zoogeography

A Study of Rodent’s Fauna of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the Southeast of Iran with Emphasis on their Zoogeography

Authors

  • Asghar Khajeh Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Higher Education Complex of Saravan, Saravan, Iran, Islamic Republic of

Keywords:

Rodent’s fauna Sistan and Baluchestan province Palearctic Oriental Ethiopian

Abstract

Introduction: The Sistan and Baluchestan province in the southeast Iran bounded by deserts and mountains is a special corridor for penetration of African-Arabian and Indian fauna. The region demonstrates harsh desert climate.
Materials & Methods: This study mainly based on M.Sc. and Ph.D thesis of the author, in addition to additional sampling for the last five years.
Results: Totally, 268 specimens belonging to 6 family, 16 genera and 18 species were investigated in this study. As a result, the region enjoys oriental elements such as; House mouse (Mus musculus), Indian jerbil (Tatera indica), Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica), Indian Desert Jird(Meriones hurrianae), Indian Bush Rat (Golunda ellioti) and Northern Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii) that the last three species (M. hurrianae, G. ellioti and F. pennantii) were blocked in the Baluchestan region, southeast Iran while T. indica, M. musculus and H. indica could pass the barriers into the central Plateau of Iran. This area contains Ethiopian
elements such as, Baluchestan Gerbil (Gerbillus nanus), Libyan Jird (Meriones libycus), Eastern Spiny Mouse (Acomys dimidiatu) also palearctic and Iranian species, Roof Rat (Rattus rattus), Persian Jird (Meriones persicus), Gray Dwarf Hamster (Cricetulus migratorius) and Microtus kermanesis. Although, the region is characterized by a low plain surrounded by high mountains, it is not strictly isolated Thus, it can be considered as a crossroad between Palearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental realms.
Concution: According to the field observations the Indian jerbil, T. indica has the highest density in this region.

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Published

2024-09-26

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