Gerbillus cheesmani Thomas, 1919 . J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 26:748.

TYPE LOCALITY: Iraq, Lower Euphrates, near Basra .

DISTRIBUTION: S.W. Iran; Iraq; Arabia; North Yemen; South Yemen; Oman.

COMMENT: Formerly included aquilus; see Lay and Nadler, 1975, Mammalia, 39:423-445, and Corbet, 1978:123. Includes arduus; see Ellerman and MorrisonScott, 1951:636, Harrison, 1972, The Mammals of Arabia, 3:548, and Schlitter, 1976, Unpubl. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. Maryland, 558 pp. Petter, 1975, Part 6.3:9, included cheesmani in gerbillus but see Corbet, 1978:123, Schlitter, 1976, Diss. Abstr. Int., 37(6), and Harrison, 1972, The Mammals of Arabia, 3:546, who considered cheesmani a distinct species.

ISIS NUMBER: 5301410008091008001.