RODENTS OF LIBYA O 



traps per night, baited with moistened oatmeal and set in a conven- 

 tional fashion. Occasionally, rajttraps were used to take large rodents, 

 such as jirds (Meriones) and sand rats (Psammomys) . In a few instances 

 jirds (Meriones), gerbils (GerbUlus) and house mice (Mus) were pur- 

 chased from local residents of the oases. Mole rats (Sjmlax) were 

 obtained using Macabee gopher traps. Diurnal rodents, such as sand 

 rats (Psammomys) and gundis (Ctenodactylus) , were shot with a 16- 

 gauge shotgun, using number 9 shot or a .32-caliber auxiliary barrel 

 in the 16-gauge shotgun, using .32-caliber shells loaded with dust shot. 

 The most effective method for collecting sand rats (Psammomys) in- 

 volved shooting them along the roadside while riding on the front of 

 the Land Rover. 



Actual field work consisted of 16,175 trap nights which yielded in 

 excess of 3,100 specimens, of which some 1,758 were retained as 

 specimens. One hundred sixty-five days and nights were spent in the 

 field, of which 124 were spent collecting. 



Significant collections were also obtained by Henry W. Setzer in the 

 fall of 1955, while engaged in a preliminary survey of Libyan mammals, 

 and again in the spring of 1961, while on a trans-Saharan trip to the 

 Tibesti Mountains. Additional specimens were collected by James H. 

 Shaw, who accompanied the author on a collecting trip to northern 

 Cyrenaica in the spring of 1962. Additional specimens were borrowed 

 from the British and Paris museums for comparative purposes. The 

 present study is thus based on a total of 2,026 specimens representing 

 28 species and 48 subspecies. 



Many areas in Libya are still not represented by specimens, however, 

 and many of the conclusions regarding the systematics and distribution 

 of certain taxa are thus conjectural. For example, the occurrence in 

 the Coastal Plain Province of several subspecies of GerbUlus eatoni 

 Thomas is not consistent with recognized concepts of speciation. 

 When specimens become available from more localities on the coastal 

 plain and permit a more comprehensive study, the Coastal Plain 

 Province will probably prove to be divisible into a number of sub- 

 provinces, each having a typical rodent fauna. 



The present study is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive 

 treatment of the taxonomy and distribution of Libyan rodents based 

 upon actual specimens and field experience. This account is not to be 

 regarded as a final work on the systematics and distribution of Libyan 

 rodents but is, instead, a progress report limited to information 

 available at the present time. Much remains to be learned about specia- 

 tion and distribution of the Libyan rodent fauna, and it is hoped that 

 this paper will serve as a point of departure for future research. 



