![]() The genus Meriones was first described by Illiger in 1811, and Meriones unguiculatus was first identified in 1867 by Milne-Edwards ( Robinson, 1975 Thiessen and Yahr, 1977). Gerbils belong to the superfamily Muroidea, family Muridae, and subfamily Gerbillinae based on morphology and on evaluation of nuclear protein coding sequences of the Lecithin Cholesterol Acyl Transferase gene and the von Willebrand factor gene ( Michaux et al., 2001, Robinson, 1975b). Myomorphs also lack premolar teeth ( Hurst, 1999). Gerbils are part of the suborder Myomorpha, originally so named because the deep and lateral masseter muscles attach to the front of the muzzle, giving it a forward thrust. Rodents are divided into five major suborders ( Musser and Carleton, 2005). Gerbils are in the class Mammalia and order Rodentia. The following description outlines a classification of the Mongolian gerbil based on morphology as well as more recent molecular techniques. It should be noted that mammalian taxonomy is a rapidly changing field. Classically, gerbils have been used in research involving stroke, parasitology, infectious diseases, epilepsy, brain development and behavior, and hearing. Gerbils have unique characteristics, which make them appropriate for a number of animal models. Cystic ovaries are seen commonly in female gerbils over 1 year of age. ![]() Gerbils may have spontaneous seizures secondary to stress such as handling, cage change, abrupt noises, or changes in the environment. Gerbils are excellent subjects for laboratory animal research as they are susceptible to bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens that affect humans and other species. Gerbils have been used as experimental models in a number of areas of biomedical research. Mongolian gerbils are attracted to saliva and use salivary cues to discriminate between siblings and nonsiblings, and females use oral cues in the selection of sociosexual partners. Mature gerbils are smaller than rats, but larger than mice. Gerbils have several unique anatomical and physiological features. The Mongolian gerbils that are available today originated from 20 pairs of captured animals that were maintained in 1935 in a closed, random-bred colony at the Kitasato Institute in Japan. Gerbils are found in deserts and semiarid geographical regions of the world. ![]() Its disposition, curious nature, relative freedom from naturally occurring infectious diseases, and adaptability to its environment have contributed to its popularity as a laboratory animal. Some paths could lead to a dead end, or you could give your hamster an option of two different tunnels to go through, leading to two different parts of the maze.The gerbil is usually nonaggressive and is one of the easiest rodents to maintain and handle. ![]() Not all routes need to lead to the teepee. We added a little teepee as a finish point, and placed a treat inside for our hamster to find.
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