List of calomyscids

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A mouse-like hamster (Calomyscus sp.) Calo10.jpg
A mouse-like hamster (Calomyscus sp.)

Calomyscidae is a family of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan that contains a single genus, Calomyscus. A member of this family is called a mouse-like hamster, brush-tailed mouse, or calomyscid. Most members of this family are commonly referred to as belonging to the species Calomyscus bailwardi , the first mouse-like hamster to be described. There are no population estimates for any of the known mouse-like hamsters, and most are considered as least-concern species, with two noted as being data deficient by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). [1]

Contents

There are 8 extant calomyscid species contained within a single genus, Calomyscus. [2] [1] Two extinct Calomyscidae species are known: C. delicatusAguilar et al. 1984 and C. minorde Bruijn et al. 1970. [3] New extant species that are not recognized by the IUCN have been discovered in the 2020s, [4] including Behzad's brush-tailed mouse (C. behzadi) [5] and the Kerman brush-tailed mouse (C. kermanensis). [6]

Conventions

IUCN Red List categories
Conservation status
 EX  Extinct (0 species)
 EW  Extinct in the wild (0 species)
 CR  Critically endangered (0 species)
 EN  Endangered (0 species)
 VU  Vulnerable (0 species)
 NT  Near threatened (0 species)
 LC  Least concern (6 species)
Other categories
 DD  Data deficient (2 species)
 NE  Not evaluated (0 species)

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the calomyscid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "".

Classification

The family Calomyscidae consists of eight extant species in one genus. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Only one of these species, Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse, has more than one subspecies. The cladogram below is based on that produced by Rezazadeh and colleagues in 2024, and excludes Calomyscus tsolovi due to deficient data. [4]

Family Calomyscidae

Calomyscidae

Calomyscids

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005). [2]

Genus Calomyscus Thomas, 1905 – 8 species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster

Hamster-bahri.jpg

C. bailwardi
Thomas, 1905
IranSize:

Habitat: Shrubland and rocky areas

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [7]

Baluchi mouse-like hamster


C. baluchi
Thomas, 1920
Afghanistan and PakistanSize:

Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [8]

Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse


C. elburzensis
Goodwin, 1938

One subspecies
  • C. e. zykovi
Northeastern Iran, southwestern Turkmenistan, northwest AfghanistanSize:

Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [9]

Noble mouse-like hamster


C. grandis
Schlitter & Setzer, 1973
Alborz, IranSize:

Habitat: Forest

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [10]

Hotson's mouse-like hamster


C. hotsoni
Thomas, 1920
Southeastern Iran, southwestern PakistanSize:

Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas

Diet:
 DD 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [11]

Great Balkhan mouse-like hamster


C. mystax
Kashkarov, 1925
South Turkmenistan, northern Iran, Transcaucasia, northwestern AfghanistanSize:

Habitat: Grassland

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Steady2.svg [12]

Tsolov's mouse-like hamster


C. tsolovi
Peshev, 1991
Southwest SyriaSize:

Habitat: Shrubland, rocky areas

Diet:
 DD 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [13]

Urar mouse-like hamster


C. urartensis
Vorontsov, Kartavtseva & Potapova, 1979
Southern Azerbaijan, northwestern IranSize:

Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas

Diet:
 LC 


Unknown Blue question mark (italic).svg [14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Search: Taxonomy: Calomyscidae - Family". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Family Calomyscidae". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 926–930. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. "Fossilworks: Calomyscidae". Paleobiology Database . University of Wisconsin–Madison . Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Rezazadeh, Elham; Zali, Hessamodin; Ahmadzadeh, Faraham; Siahsarvie, Roohollah; Kilpatrick, C William; Norris, Ryan W; Aliabadian, Mansour (2024-06-01). "Two new species of brush-tailed mouse, genus Calomyscus (Rodentia: Calomyscidae), from the Iranian Plateau". Journal of Mammalogy. 105 (3): 589–608. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyad116. ISSN   0022-2372.
  5. Dezhman, M.; Akbarirad, S.; Aliabadian, M.; Siahsarvie, R.; Shafaeipour, A.; Mirshamsi, O. (2021). "A new species of Calomyscus Thomas, 1905 (Calomyscidae: Rodentia) from western Iran". Turkish Journal of Zoology. 45 (7): 585–593. doi:10.3906/zoo-2101-22.
  6. Dezhman, M.; Akbarirad, S.; Aliabadian, M.; Siahsarvie, R.; Shafaeipour, A.; Mirshamsi, O. (2023). "A new species of brush-tailed mice of the genus Calomyscus from southern Iran (Calomyscidae: Rodentia)". Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics. 19 (1): 71–101. doi:10.22067/IJAB.2023.79456.1045.
  7. Shenbrot, G.; Kryštufek, B.; Yigit, N. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Calomyscus bailwardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3618A115066410. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T3618A22185615.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  8. Molur, S. & Nameer, P.O. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Calomyscus baluchi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3619A115066524. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T3619A22185688.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  9. Shenbrot, G. & Molur, S. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Calomyscus elburzensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T136377A115207001. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T136377A22186030.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  10. Kennerley, R. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Calomyscus grandis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T136252A115205157. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T136252A22185552.en . Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  11. Jordan, M.; Molur, S. & Nameer, P.O. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Calomyscus hotsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3620A115066639. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T3620A22185768.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  12. Cassola, F. (2016). "Calomyscus mystax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3621A22185853. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T3621A22185853.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  13. Gerrie, R.; Kennerley, R. (2016). "Calomyscus tsolovi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3622A101909114. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T3622A101909114.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  14. Shenbrot, G.; Kryštufek, B. (2016). "Calomyscus urartensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T3623A22185965. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T3623A22185965.en . Retrieved 11 June 2025.