Zagros mouse hamster
| Zagros mouse hamster | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Calomyscus baildwardi | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1905 |
The Zagros mouse hamster ( Calomyscus bailwardi ) is a rodent species from the genus and family of mouse hamsters ( Calomyscus , Calomyscidae). It occurs in Iran. The kind epithet honors the British army officer and animal collector Arthur Charles Bailward (1855–1923).
features
The Zagros mouse hamster reaches a head-trunk length of 80 to 92 mm, a tail length of 81 to 92 mm and an ear length of 18 to 20 mm. The rear foot length is 19 to 22 mm and the weight 17 to 22 g. The tail length is slightly larger than the head-trunk length. The head is sand-colored and slightly lighter than the back. The belly is pure white with a sharp demarcation from the sand-colored hair on the flanks. A white hair extends from the cheeks to almost in front of the eyes. The top of the feet is white. The two-tone tail is gray-sand colored on the top and white on the underside. The hairless ears are light gray-brown with small white spots at the base. The small, narrow skull is 22.4 to 23.7 mm long and 12.2 to 13.2 mm wide. The first molar is wider than most other types of mouse hamsters.
Systematics
All currently recognized mouse hamster species, with the exception of the Urartu mouse hamster ( Calomyscus urartensis ), were originally considered to be subspecies of the Zagros mouse hamster . This assessment was based on small differences in morphology and coloration within the taxa . The survey of the species status was originally based on differences in the karyotype . In further analyzes, this was supported by morphometric and molecular analyzes. Six different karyotypes, five of which come from different provinces, were identified for Calomyscus bailwardi . Specimens collected near the Terra typica in Chuzestan Province have a karyotype with a diploid number of 2n = 46 and an autosome arm number of NFa = 44. In specimens from the northwestern Zāgros Mountains , the karyotype is 2n = 37 and the number of autosome arms NFa = 40. From the southern Zagros Mountains, mouse hamsters with a karyotype of 2n = 52 and a number of autosome arms of NFa = 56 are known. In the provinces of Kerman and Fars there are specimens with the karyotype 2n = 50 and a number of autosome arms of NFa = 48 and NFa = 50, respectively.
habitat
The Zagros mouse hamster inhabits dry hills, ridge lines and valley flanks, often with large boulders and poor vegetation. The xerophilic vegetation includes tufts of grass, thistles and representatives of the knapweed ( Centaurea ). The Zagros mouse hamster is also often found on rock faces around grain fields.
Way of life
The Zagros Mouse Hamster eats probably of grass seed, including brome ( Bromus ) and thistle flowers, which he finds in small amounts under rock ledges. Juvenile Zagros mouse hamsters with body weights of 7 to 16 g were collected in the southern Zagros Mountains in late April and early May. Suckling females, each with four teats, and an additional female with an enlarged uterus, were found in December. Based on the known data, a litter size of two to four boys is assumed.
status
According to the IUCN , the population of the Zagros mouse hamster is not considered endangered.
literature
- C. William Kilpatrick : Family Calomyscidae (Brush-tailed Mice) In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 7: Rodents II. , Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2017. ISBN 978-84-16728-04-6 , pp. 158–159
Web links
- Calomyscus bailwardi inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017.1. Posted by: Shenbrot, G., Kryštufek, B. & Yigit, N., 2016. Accessed June 21, 2017.