Order

Rodentia

Key region

N/A

Range

Sudan

Key Species Champion

Ibrahim M. Hashim

How this species is doing

Pressure

Although the primary threats to this species are largely unknown, there has been an increase in aridity in eastern Sudan, and an increase in conversion of land to large scale mechanized agriculture, overgrazing, and the removal of shrub cover for charcoal production. There has also been an increase in residential and industrial areas along the west bank of the White Nile.

Responses

Loss of this species could result in a disruption of the ecosystem and food chain. Gerbils are known to consume nuts, seeds, fruits, grasses, and insects; provide seed dispersal services; and are preyed upon by snakes, birds of prey and small carnivores. A recently-funded study launched by the Sudanese Wildlife Society, in collaboration with the Small Mammal Specialist Group, aims to investigate the abundance and distribution of the species, as well as its major threats, with the aim to conserve the species into the future.

Knowledge level

The Khartoum Gerbil is Data Deficient. Eleven species of gerbils, including the Khartoum Gerbil were listed in Sudan in the sixties. It has been reported that this species is known from only three localities to the west of the Nile. Until very recently, no research work has been done and hence there is a lack of ecological data pertaining to the species, and limited effort to conserve this species.