Vinu
Mathew managed to find a colony of Fat Sand Rats near Jubail and take some great
photos of them. He has kindly allowed me to use them on my website some of
which are shown below. The Fat Sand Rat Psammomys
obesus is a stocky, gerbil-like rodent, native to desert regions. Its upper
parts are reddish-brown, reddish, yellowish or sandy buff and the underparts
are yellowish, buffy or whitish. The subspecies that lives in Saudi Arabia is P. o. dianae. The sturdy limbs bear
blackish claws and the short, stout tail that is fully haired and has a black
terminal tuft. The small, rounded ears are covered with dense whitish to
yellowish hair. This species communicates through high-pitched squeaks and by
drumming its feet. They have a total length of 25.1 - 35.6 cm with a tail
length of 10 - 15.7 cm and weigh 32-43 grams. They are found in North Africa
and the Middle East and have been recorded in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria,
Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. They
inhabit deserts, semi-desert, rocky habitats and grasslands, provided that
succulent shrubs, on which the rat feeds, are present. They live in colonies in
complex burrow systems, which have separate areas for nesting and the storage
of food. Compared to other members of the Muridae family (the mice, rats and
gerbils), the fat sand rat is rather unusual as it is diurnal and wholly
herbivorous; most other species in this family are nocturnal and feed primarily
on grains. In winter their main activity is during the day, but during the
summer months they prefer the shade and can be found inside the burrow or in
the shade of the surrounding bushes. Its diet consists of leaves and stems and,
unlike high-energy seeds, these foods are rather low in energy. As a result, it
has to eat around 80 percent of its body weight in food each day to obtain
sufficient energy. The fat sand rat does not need to drink water, a useful
adaptation in arid habitats, and instead can get all the water it needs by
feeding on the leaves of the saltbush which are up to 90 percent water and
licking morning dew. However, this water has an extremely high concentration of
salt, and so the fat sand rat must produce very salty, concentrated urine in
order to expel the salt from its body
