Mesocricetus is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
Old WorldThe Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century.-Regions:The Old World includes Europe, Asia, and Africa , plus surrounding islands...
hamsterHamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 24 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s, including the
Golden hamsterThe Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, is a very well-known member of the rodent subfamily Cricetinae, the hamsters. In the wild they are now considered vulnerable, due to farmers poisoning them, but are popular as housepets and scientific research animals. Adults grow from in...
or Syrian hamster, the first hamster to be introduced as a domestic pet and still the most popular species for that purpose.
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Mesocricetus is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of
Old WorldThe Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century.-Regions:The Old World includes Europe, Asia, and Africa , plus surrounding islands...
hamsterHamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 24 species, classified in six or seven genera....
s, including the
Golden hamsterThe Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, is a very well-known member of the rodent subfamily Cricetinae, the hamsters. In the wild they are now considered vulnerable, due to farmers poisoning them, but are popular as housepets and scientific research animals. Adults grow from in...
or Syrian hamster, the first hamster to be introduced as a domestic pet and still the most popular species for that purpose.
Recent research has shown that, unlike almost all other land mammals studied, two species of this genus (
M. auratus and
M. brandti) lack the capacity for colour vision (Williams and Jacobs, 2008).
Species
- Mesocricetus auratus: Golden hamster
The Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster, Mesocricetus auratus, is a very well-known member of the rodent subfamily Cricetinae, the hamsters. In the wild they are now considered vulnerable, due to farmers poisoning them, but are popular as housepets and scientific research animals. Adults grow from in...
- Mesocricetus brandti: Turkish hamster
The Turkish Hamster Mesocricetus brandti is a species of hamster closely related to the Syrian Hamster. It is used as a laboratory animal in scientific research, but is not widely available on the pet market. It is available to pet owners in the US, though it is less popular than the Syrian or...
, or Brandt's hamster
- Mesocricetus newtoni: Romanian Hamster
The Romanian Hamster is a species of rodent in the Cricetidae family.It is found in Bulgaria and Romania.-References:...
- Mesocricetus raddei: Ciscaucasian Hamster
The Ciscaucasian Hamster is a species of rodent in the Cricetidae family.It is found only in Russia.-References:...