The great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) is a large rodent found throughout much of Central Asia.

[2] Great gerbils are found in arid habitats, predominantly in sandy or clay deserts.

[1] The great gerbil is preyed on by foxes, owls, kites, wildcats, weasels, vultures, and cobras.

Burrow system complexes have a distinctive region of cleared soil and can be seen and mapped from aerial photos and satellite images.

[5] Great gerbils are known reservoirs of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, and of Leishmania major, the causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis.