Jerboa

Jerboa, any rodent of the genus Dipus, ranging from South-East Europe and North Africa to China. They are distinguished by the extraordinary length of the three-toed hind limbs, and their mode of progression is a, series of jumps so rapid that they seem to skim over the surface like a bird. The Common Jerboa (D. aegyptius) is about 6 inches long, with a tufted tail of 9 inches. Like most desert animals they are greyish in colour. The Gerbilles, with five digits on all the limbs, are allied, and have a nearly similar range. America has a kindred form, Zaput hudsonius, the sole species of the genus, about 8 inches long, the tail counting for five. All live socially in burrows, and hoard grain for food in the winter.