Jaculus jaculus (Linnaeus, 1758).

This delightful animal of about 11 cm in length is characterized by having long hind legs with three toes on each foot, and shorter forelegs with five toes on each forefoot. It is brown or cinnamon colored on the back with white underparts; the long tail has a prominent white-tipped black tuft. The hair on the palms and soles assist it to move easily on the soft sand of its habitat. The Lesser Jerboa lives on loose sand dunes and in sandy wadis and plains. It digs its burrows in the firm, barren sand and the nest chamber near the end of the burrow is furnished with plant material. It is strictly nocturnal and is very nervous; it lives solitarily and probably aestivates during the heat of summer, living on stored seeds. It eats seeds, dry desert grasses, and roots and has never been known to drink, subsisting on the moisture in its food.