Molly Morris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote >In a message dated 6/4/00 8:25:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time, >[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > ><< What is a jird? >> > >Well, a gerbil is a type of jird. Jirds look like big gerbils. I think they >are about the size of rats.-Molly The word jird is almost interchangeable with the word gerbil. There are about ninety species of gerbils and many of the larger species from North Africa and Asia are called Jirds. More specifically, the gerbils of the genus Meriones are always known as Jirds. This means that the normal Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) we all keep as pets is also known as the Clawed Jird for this reason. Some other species of North African gerbils, such as the Bushy-Tailed Jird (Sekeetamys calurus) are also known as jirds. In Europe, when people talk of a pet jird they nearly always mean a Shaw's Jird (Meriones shawi), in North America, it is probably a Bushy- Tailed Jird. Another word for gerbil, usually used for smaller North African species of the genus Gerbillus is Dipodil, as with the Charming Dipodil (Gerbillus amoenus). Finally, the last name you might come across is Sand Rat. Any gerbil can be called a Sand Rat, but specifically it is used for gerbils of the genus Psammomys, such as The Fat Sand Rat. Whereas Jird is derived from a Berber word, Dipodil, like Gerbil, derives from a name for Jerboas. Latin - Jerboa = Dipus - Small Jerboa = Dipodilus French - Jerboa = Gerboise - Small Jerboa = Gerbille There is a lot of info, plus many photographs and illustrations of many gerbil species, including all those mentioned here, at: http://www.gerbils.co.uk/gerbils/other.htm -- Julian ************************************************************************ * Jackie and Julian * * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * National Gerbil Society * * http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ * ************************************************************************
