the.com/gerbil
a desert rocket the size of a thumb, perpetually convinced the world ends in five seconds
means A small, sociable burrowing rodent native to dry regions of Africa and Asia, popular as a pet for its tidy habits and tireless energy.
from From French 'gerbille,' a diminutive of 'gerboise' — itself borrowed from the Arabic 'yarbu',' the desert jerboa. The two animals are different creatures but cousins in the naming: both are sand-dwelling leapers, and the European word smudged one into the other. So 'gerbil' carries an Arabic desert in its bones, shrunk down by a French suffix into something pocket-sized.
- water trick
- survives on barely any water, recycling moisture from food
- jump kings
- can leap over a foot straight up
- banned in california
- feared they'd colonize the wild as pests
- tail snap
- can shed tail skin to escape predators
- thumper feet
- drum hind legs to warn of danger
mongolian gerbil — most common pet species, native to mongolia and northern china, domesticated since 1950s
fat-tailed dunnart — small carnivorous marsupial gerbil from australian deserts, stores fat in tail
egyptian spiny mouse — gerbil species from north africa and middle east, can regenerate skin and hair