Northern three-toed jerboa

The Raufuß jerboa ( Dipus sagitta ) is a common jerboa Central Asia. Their range extends from the Caspian Sea on the north of Iran, the Central Asian successor states of the Soviet Union and Xinjiang to Manchuria.

The fur of the Raufuß jerboa seasonal changes its color. In winter it is oberseits light orange, gray beige in summer. The underside is always white. The strong hind legs carrying three toes and each of these is occupied with bristles that have this jerboa given its name.

The habitat is semi-desert. Raufuß - gerbils prefer a sandy bottom, but need in their habitat sufficient coverage by shrubs. They live in burrows. For the summer, a construction is applied, the 40 to 100 cm below the surface and in a nest chamber is centered, which is lined with dry grass. The building is accessed via a main door and one or more emergency exits. The entrance is closed during the hot summer months in order to maintain a cool temperature inside. From here a tunnel to the nest chamber, which is in males up to 3 m long, with females up to 5.8 m. For hibernation, a separate construction is applied, the deeper under the earth is on average (up to 3 meters) and to which access tunnel will be sealed immediately after installation again. The hibernation lasts in the Kazakh steppes cold from November to March, is in other regions but shorter, and Iran hold Raufuß - jerboas ever not hibernate.

At night, leave Raufuß - jerboas their dens and go looking for food. Roots, grasses, seeds, fruits and flowers are eaten. Insects are a common complementary foods. Depending on the area of ​​distribution takes the reproductive period of two to nine months. Thus females have a cold regions and warm regions up to four litters per year.

The IUCN sees no significant barriers to Raufuß jerboa and lists them as not threatened (Least Concern ).