AnAge entry for Meriones unguiculatus

Classification (HAGRID: 03324)
Taxonomy	Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry) Order: Rodentia Family: Muridae Genus: Meriones
Species	Meriones unguiculatus
Common name	Mongolian jird
Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
Maximum longevity	6.3 years (captivity)
Source	ref. 671
Sample size	medium
Data quality	acceptable
Observations	Females reproduce until they are 20 months old. Average lifespan in the wild is less than 6 months [0434]. One captive specimen lived 6.3 years [0671].
Life history traits (averages)
Female sexual maturity	43 days
Male sexual maturity	36 days
Gestation	25 days
Weaning	24 days
Litter size	5 (viviparous)
Litters per year	4
Inter-litter interval	46 days
Weight at birth	3 g
Weight at weaning	14.3 g
Adult weight	53.2 g
Postnatal growth rate	0.0324 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual	70 %
Metabolism
Typical body temperature	311ºK or 38.2ºC or 100.8ºF
Basal metabolic rate	0.5460 W
Body mass	64.8 g
Metabolic rate per body mass	0.008426 W/g
References
[0775] Brummelte and Teuchert-Noodt (2007), Density of dopaminergic fibres in the prefrontal cortex of gerbils is sensitive to aging, PubMed [0776] Seluanov et al. (2007), Telomerase activity coevolves with body mass not lifespan, PubMed [0734] Scarano et al. (2006), Tissue evidence of the testosterone role on the abnormal growth and aging effects reversion in the gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) prostate, PubMed [0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World [0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology [0372] Arkin et al. (2003), Age-related changes on marking, marking-like behavior and the scent gland in adult Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), PubMed [0420] White and Seymour (2003), Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3, PubMed [0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals [0373] Dawirs et al. (2000), Granule cell proliferation and axon terminal degradation in the dentate gyrus of gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) during maturation, adulthood and aging, PubMed [0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World [0374] Spangler et al. (1997), An assessment of behavioral aging in the Mongolian gerbil, PubMed [0377] Bingel (1995), Pathologic findings in an aging Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) colony, PubMed [0375] Sohal et al. (1995), Oxidative stress and aging in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), PubMed [0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data [0542] Bernhard Grzimek (1990), Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals [0376] Langley and Gray (1987), Age-related susceptibility of the gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus, to the bovine parasite, Babesia divergens, PubMed [0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction [0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves [0571] National Gerbil Society
External resources
Integrated Taxonomic Information System	ITIS 632988
Animal Diversity Web	ADW account
Encyclopedia of Life	Search EOL
Genome Project	Search NCBI
Entrez	Search all databases Entrez Taxonomy search
Ageing literature	Search Google Scholar Search PubMed Search Scirus
Images	Google Image search
Internet	Search Google

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