Gerbil

Posted December 22nd, 2007 by Anonymous

A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. Once known simply as " desert rats ", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily diurnal (though some, including the common household pet, do exhibit crepuscular behavior), and almost all are omnivorous.

The word "gerbil" is a diminutive form of "jerboa", though the jerboas are an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche.

One Mongolian species, Meriones unguiculatus , also known as the Clawed Jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet. It was first brought to the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker for use in research.

Gerbils are typically between six and twelve inches (150 to 300 mm) long, including the tail which makes up approximately one half of their total length. One species however, the Great Gerbil, or Rhombomys opimus , originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than 16 inches (400 mm) in length. The average adult gerbil weighs approximately 2 1/2 ounces. As of August 19, 2003, officials in western China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began releasing eagles to combat the damage they say the great gerbils have done to eleven million acres (46,000 km²) of grassland.

Pet gerbils have an average lifespan of 2 to 4 years. Some have been known to live five or six years

Additional feedback about Gerbil.

Gerbils are fun and friendly small pets. They are smart, easy to keep clean, and amusing to watch.

For those of us who enjoy listening to music, it's hard to imagine someone having no feeling for music at all. Wouldn't such a person be some sort of coarse, insensitive philistine? Yet some of the most cultivated people in the world have had the powers of musical appreciation of a gerbil.

In 1992, Huckabee stated that homosexuals shouldn't be in the military, that women should not engage in any combat, and among other statements, couples should not be co-habiting. I say GOOD THING because what we're doing isn't working. Let's try something different and get off this gerbil wheel.

Mitt Romney released the first candidate-sponsored, intraparty television attack ad of the 2008 campaign cycle. His target: Mike Huckabee. The issue: immigration. Huckabee isn't worried. Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project has just endorsed Huckabee's well planned immigration plan. Let's now move off this gerbil wheel.

Once the government of Israel attains the wit of a gerbil, victory can be hers.

Gerbil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia . Once known simply as " desert rats ", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African , Indian , and Asian rodents ...

Gerbil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia . Once known simply as " desert rats ", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African , Indian , and Asian rodents ...

Gerbil

Gerbil is a simple Winboard -compatible chess engine written by Bruce Moreland . It include all source files, and is licensed under the GNU General Public License

Other Gerbil Species

There are 87 gerbil species known (see below for links to specific species). So 86 more than the popular and known Mongolian gerbil. In the next scheme you can find where the ...

Critters Collection: Gerbil

Critters Home Page : Critter Collection : Gerbil Get to Know the Gerbil Smaller than a rat, bigger than a mouse and friendlier than most of its rodent relatives, the gerbil makes a ...

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