Desert dormouse

Selevinia betpakdalensis on a Kazakh Stamp ( 1993)

The Salzkrautbilch or desert dormouse ( Selevinia betpakdalaensis ) is a rodent species. Previously, he was regarded as the only member of his own family ( Seleviniidae ), incorporated today in the family of dormice ( Gliridae ), whose most famous member of the Seven Sleepers is.

Description

It reaches a head -body length from seven to eight and a half centimeters and a tail length from seven to nine and a half centimeters. His fur is long and gives the impression that the animal would be plump, almost fat. The top of the body is gray and the underside whitish. The tail has very little hair that is thin and very short. There are four toes on the forefeet, the hind feet five. The ears are large and round.

Dissemination

Salzkrautbilche live in the Betpak - dala desert in Kazakhstan. It's very dry and there is a high salt content in the soil, so there grow only a few plants such as wormwood and various grasses.

Way of life

It is believed that the Salzkrautbilch in summer leads a nomadic life and thus has no fixed earthworks. In winter, however, it holds its winter sleep in self-dug Building. The food seems mainly to consist of insects and other invertebrates. The plants of its habitat seem to identify only a small portion of food. Mating takes place in early summer. The female then brings up to eight young.