Mouse hamster
| Mouse hamster | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mouse hamster |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Calomyscidae | ||||||||||||
| Vorontsov & Potapova , 1979 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Calomyscus | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1905 |
The mouse hamsters ( Calomyscus ) are a genus of the mice that is common in western Asia . They have nothing in common with hamsters in appearance, but are perhaps related to them. The assignment of this genus is still largely unclear.
The following eight types are distinguished:
- Zagros mouse hamster , Calomyscus bailwardi Thomas 1905 , Central Iran
- Baluchistan mouse hamster , Calomyscus baluchi Thomas 1920 , Baluchistan
- Goodwin's Persian Mouse Hamster , Calomyscus elbruzensis Goodwin, 1938 , northern Iran, western Afghanistan and southern Turkmenistan
- Syrian Mouse Hamster , Calomyscus grandis Schlitter & Setzer, 1973 , Elburs Mountains in northern Iran
- Hotson's mouse hamster , Calomyscus hotsoni Thomas 1920 , southeastern Iran a. southwestern Pakistan
- Afghan mouse hamster , Calomyscus mystax Kashkarov 1925 , northern Afghanistan , northeastern Iran , southern Turkmenistan
- Tsolov mouse hamster , Calomyscus tsolovi Peshev 1991 , southwestern Syria
- Urartu hamster , Calomyscus urartensis Vorontsov & Kartavtseva 1979 , Iranian part of the Caucasus
Sometimes, however, all mouse hamsters are assigned to a single species, which is then called Calomyscus bailwardi .
Mouse hamsters look like a mouse. They have a head and trunk length of seven to nine centimeters, plus eight to ten centimeters of tail. They are colored sand- or gray-brown on the top and white on the underside. The big ears are noticeable.
Habitat are semi-deserts and steppes as well as forests at altitudes between 400 and 3500 meters. Mouse hamsters are nocturnal and feed on seeds and other plant material. During the day they are hidden in buildings. Since they cannot dig well themselves, they often use the abandoned burrows of other animals, such as racing rats .
The systematic position of the mouse hamsters is unclear. They look most similar to the American white-footed mice , which belong to the New World mice . The correspondences are so numerous that the mouse hamsters have already been placed among the New World mice by some zoologists , which would make them the only old-world representatives of this kinship group. Because of the peculiarities of the bit, a position near the hamster is more likely. In most classifications, the mouse hamsters are isolated and are considered as a separate subfamily or family (Calomyscidae).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0801857899 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Web links
- Search for "Calomyscus" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
- Photos of the Afghan (= Turkmen) mouse hamster
- Detailed description on Animal Diversity Web (English)