Gobi jerboa the Great Lakes Depression, Valley of the Lakes, Northern Gobi, Dzungarian, Gobi Desert, Trans Altai Gobi Desert and Alashani Gobi Desert (Sokolov et al. 1998). Approximately 21% of the Gobi jerboa’s range in Mongolia is in protected areas (Clark et al. 2006). The Gobi jerboa is found in desert and steppe habitats, which are particularly well vegetated. Saltwort, ephedra, and desert bushes characterize these landscapes in China (Smith and Xie 2008). The gobi jerboa are nocturnal rodents which live alone, and spend most of the daylight hours in unplugged burrows that are relatively simple, and can extend up to 60
Taklamakan Desert to regard the Taklamakan Desert as separate and independent from the Gobi Desert region to its east. The People's Republic of China has constructed two cross-desert highways. The Tarim Desert Highway links the cities of Hotan (on the southern edge) and Luntai (on the northern edge), and the Bayingol to Ruoqiang road crosses the desert to the east. In recent years, the desert has expanded in some areas, its sands enveloping farms and villages as a result of desertification. The Golmud-Korla Railway (presently, under construction; expected completion time, 2019) will cross the Taklamakan as well. Because it lies in the