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Dune Hairy-footed Gerbil

Gerbillurus (Paratatera) tytonis (Bauer & Niethammer, 1960)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The dune hairy-footed gerbil, or the Namib dune gerbil (Gerbillurus tytonis) is a species of rodent found only in Namibia. Its natural habitat is temperate desert where it lives in loose sand among sand dunes, feeding opportunistically on arthropods, seeds and green vegetation.

Wikipedia contributors, Dune hairy-footed gerbil; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:44:23.894601+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Gerbillurus (Paratatera) tytonis (Bauer & Niethammer, 1960)
Name authority
(Bauer & Niethammer, 1960)
Common name
Dune Hairy-footed Gerbil
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Gerbillurus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
  12. suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
  13. superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
  14. familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
  15. subfamilyGerbillinae Gray, 1825
  16. genusGerbillurus Shortridge, 1942
  17. subgenusParatatera F. Petter, 1983
  18. speciesGerbillurus (Paratatera) tytonis (Bauer & Niethammer, 1960)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gerbillurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Hairy-footed GerbilGerbillurus (Progerbillurus) paeba (A. Smith, 1836)MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Setzer's Hairy-footed GerbilGerbillurus (Gerbillurus) setzeri (Schlitter, 1973)MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Brush-tailed Hairy-footed GerbilGerbillurus (Gerbillurus) vallinus (Thomas, 1918)MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 672 records assigned to Muridae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632913 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3FW82. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.