Mesocricetus

Mesocricetus Temporal range: Early Pliocene - Recent
Mesocricetus auratus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Cricetinae
Genus:	Mesocricetus Nehring, 1894
Type species
Cricetus nigricans [1] Brandt, 1832 (= Cricetus raddei Nehring, 1894)
Species
Mesocricetus auratus Mesocricetus brandti Mesocricetus newtoni Mesocricetus raddei

Mesocricetus is a genus of Old World hamsters, including the Syrian or golden hamster, the first hamster to be introduced as a domestic pet, and still the most popular species of hamster for that purpose.

Recent research has shown that, unlike almost all other land mammals studied, all species of this genus lack the capacity for color vision. ^[2]

Species

• Mesocricetus auratus Golden hamster or Syrian hamster
• Mesocricetus brandti Turkish hamster or Brandt's hamster
• Mesocricetus newtoni Romanian hamster or Dobrudja hamster
• Mesocricetus raddei Ciscaucasian hamster
• †Mesocricetus rathgeberi Armathia hamster (extinct, known from subfossil bones from Armathia Island, Greece) ^[3]

Notes

1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
2. Williams, Gary A. (2008). "Absence of functional short-wavelength sensitive cone pigments in hamsters (Mesocricetus)". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 194 (5): 429–439. doi:10.1007/s00359-008-0316-4. PMID   18259758.
3. Pieper, Harald (1984). "Eine neue Mesocricetus-Art (Mammalia: Cricetidae) von der griechischen Insel Armathia [A new species of Mesocricetus (Mammalia: Cricetidae) from the Greek island Armathia]" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) (in German). 107: 1–9.

References

• https://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/mammalia/rodentia/cricetidae/mesocricetus/
• Williams, G. A.; Jacobs, G. H. (2008). "Absence of functional short-wavelength sensitive cone pigments in hamsters (Mesocricetus)". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 194 (5): 429–439. doi:10.1007/s00359-008-0316-4. PMID   18259758.