Meriones crassus | UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial

Taxa
Meriones crassus | Sundevall, 1842
Publication
UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Vertebrates
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Mammals
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
There are records from Al Ain, Baynoonah and Umm al Zummoul in Abu Dhabi, the Aweer area of Dubai and further north into the Al Madam Plain (Aspinall et al. 2005, Drew and Tourenq 2005). There is a record from Jebel Ali (airport site) on the UAE birding website and it is known from the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (G. Simkins pers. comm. 2018) and probably at Al Marmoom; and also at Dulaima and Bridi in Sharjah (K. Budd pers. comm. 2018). However, there are no records in the last ten years from protected areas in Abu Dhabi and there may be some confusion in the identification of this species and Meriones arimalius. The conformed distribution is patchy and the species may occur more widely in desert areas. There are no records from the mountains. The global range extends across North Africa, south to Sudan, then east to Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and western Pakistan (Granjon 2016a). It is widespread in the Arabian Peninsula (Harrison and Bates 1991).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Makes colonies in and around vegetated hummocks (Aspinall et al. 2005).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
Assessed as Data Deficient because of uncertainty over the current status, possibly due in part to confusion with other species. While the species is relatively common in Sharjah and there are recent records from Dubai, there have been no records in the last 10 years from Abu Dhabi which comprises most of this species' range in UAE. No regional adjustment is made to the Data Deficient assessment.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2018
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Overgrazing, especially by camels, has caused extensive habitat degradation outside protected areas. An increase in numbers of feral cats and an increase in Red Fox range and numbers may also be having an impact on small mammals.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
History
Whilst Hornby (1996) listed this species as Least Concern, give the paucity of records from Abu Dhabi in the past ten years, the backcasted 1996 assessment for this species is changed to Data Deficient.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Meriones crassus Animalia Chordata Mammalia Rodentia Muridae Meriones