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Thin sand rat
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Psammomys
Species:	P. vexillaris
Binomial name
Psammomys vexillaris Thomas, 1925

The thin sand rat or lesser sand rat (Psammomys vexillaris) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It has also been previously named the pale sand rat based on work published by Oldfield Thomas in 1925. It is found in Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, and its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and intermittent salt lakes. The thin sand rat was previously classified as a subspecies of the fat sand rat. However, morphological differences in size and coat color between the two animals, along with recent molecular evidence suggest that they are different species. The thin sand rat may be a natural reservoir for the disease leishmaniasis.

References

• Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

1. Granjon, L. (2017). "Psammomys vexillaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T18419A102965932. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T18419A102965932.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
2. ^ Mostafa, Ben Hamou; Souha, Ben Abderrazak; Sabeh, Frigui; Noureddine, Chatti; Riadh, Ben Ismail (2006). "Evidence for the existence of two distinct species: Psammomys obesus and Psammomys vexillaris within the sand rats (Rodentia, Gerbillinae), reservoirs of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Tunisia". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 6 (4): 301–308. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2005.09.002. PMID 16243007.
3. Thomas, Oldfield (1925). "XX.On some of the species of Psammomys found in Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 16 (91): 197–199. doi:10.1080/00222932508633289.
4. Ranck, Gary L. (1968). "The Rodents of Libya: Taxonomy, Ecology and Zoogeographical Relationships" (PDF). Bulletin of the United States National Museum (275): 1–264. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.275.1.
5. Cockrum, E. L.; Vaughan, P. J.; Vaughan, T. C. (1977). "Status of the pale sand rat, Psammomys vexillaris Thomas, 1925". Mammalia. 41 (3): 321–326. doi:10.1515/mamm.1977.41.3.321. S2CID 84969364.
6. Othman, Souad Ben; Ghawar, Wissem; Chaouch, Melek; Ayari, Chiraz; Chemkhi, Jomaa; Cancino-Faure, Beatriz; Tomás-Pérez, Miriam; Alcover, Maria Magdalena; Riera, Cristina; Salah, Afif Ben; Fisa, Roser; Ismail, Riadh Ben; Abderrazak, Souha Ben (2018). "First detection of Leishmania DNA in Psammomys obesus and Psammomys vexillaris: Their potential involvement in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in Tunisia". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 59: 7–15. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2018.01.013. PMID 29413886.

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