Mouse-like hamster
Encyclopedia
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s found in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. They are found in rocky outcrops and semi-mountainous area in desert regions.
The mouse-like hamsters are not true hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s, but represent an early split from the rest of the mouse-like rodents
Muroidea
Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents. It includes hamsters, gerbils, true mice and rats, and many other relatives. They occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to...
. They were once thought to be hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s based on the shape of their molars, but they lack the cheek pouches, sebaceous flank glands, and short tail of the true hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s. The closest relatives of mouse-like hamsters may be the fossil Cricetodontidae. Because of their seemingly early break from the rest of the mouse-like rodents
Muroidea
Muroidea is a large superfamily of rodents. It includes hamsters, gerbils, true mice and rats, and many other relatives. They occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to...
, mouse-like hamsters have been placed in a family of their own, Calomyscidae, and have been referred to as living fossil
Living fossil
Living fossil is an informal term for any living species which appears similar to a species otherwise only known from fossils and which has no close living relatives, or a group of organisms which have long fossil records...
s.
All members of this genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
were once considered part of the same species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, Calomyscus bailwardi, but they are now referred to as separate species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
due to major differences in chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
number, skull
Skull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
measurements, and other features.
In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, a species of Calomyscus is available as a pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
. They are labelled Calomyscus bailwardi mystax or Calomyscus bailwardi, and probably represent either C. mystax or C. elburzensis. They are generally only available from dedicated breeders, not pet shops.
Mouse-like hamsters hold the record for maximum life span
Maximum life span
Maximum life span is a measure of the maximum amount of time one or more members of a population has been observed to survive between birth and death.Most living species have at least one upper limit on the number of times cells can divide...
among muroid rodents (Volf, 2003). They have been recorded as living 9 years, 3 months and 18 days in captivity. They regularly live over 4 years in captivity. The next closest lifespan among muroids is 7 years, 8 months among the better studied Canyon mouse
Canyon mouse
Canyon Mouse , is a gray-brown mouse found in many states of the Western United States and northern Mexico. Its preferred habitat is arid, rocky desert. It is the only species in the Peromyscus crinitus species group....
, Peromyscus crinitus. This and their low reproductive output suggests that mouse-like hamsters are more similar in life-history traits to much larger rodents such as sciurids and hystricognaths
Hystricognathi
Hystricognathi is an infraorder of rodents. Hystricognaths are distinguished from other rodents by the bone structure of their skulls. The masseter medialis passes partially through the infraorbital foramen and connects to the bone on the opposite side...
who can both live over 10 years in captivity.
Species
Family Calomyscidae- Genus Calomyscus
- Zagros Mountains Mouse-like Hamster, Calomyscus bailwardi
- Baluchi Mouse-like HamsterBaluchi Mouse-like HamsterThe Balochi Mouse-like Hamster is a species of rodent in the Calomyscidae family.It is found in Afghanistan and Pakistan.-References:...
, Calomyscus baluchi - Goodman's Mouse-like HamsterCalomyscus elburzensisCalomyscus elburzensis, also known as Goodwin's Calomyscus or Goodwin’s brush-tailed mouse is a species of mouse-like hamster. It is found in northeastern and northern Iran, western Afghanistan, and southern Turkmenistan, where it is found in rocky areas in mountains....
, Calomyscus elburzensis- Zykov's Mouse-like Hamster, Calomyscus elburzensis zykovi
- Noble Mouse-like HamsterCalomyscus grandisCalomyscus grandis or the Noble Calomyscus is a species of mouse-like hamster from Iran. It is the largest species of Calomyscus and was initially described by Schlitter and Setzer as a subspecies of Calomyscus bailwardi...
, Calomyscus grandis - Hotson's Mouse-like HamsterHotson's Mouse-like HamsterHotson's Brush-tailed Mouse also known as Hotson's Calomyscus or Hotson's Mouse-like Hamster is a species of rodent in the Calomyscidae family....
, Calomyscus hotsoni - Great Balkhan Mouse-like HamsterGreat Balkhan Mouse-like HamsterThe Great Balkhan Mouse-like Hamster is a species of rodent in the Calomyscidae family.It is found in southwestern Turkmenistan, northern Iran and southern Azerbaijan.-References:...
, Calomyscus mystax - Tsolov's Mouse-like HamsterTsolov's Mouse-like HamsterTsolov's Mouse-like Hamster or Syrian Calomyscus is a species of rodent in the Calomyscidae family.It is endemic to Syria.-References:...
, Calomyscus tsolovi - Urar Mouse-like Hamster, Calomyscus urartensis