The Chinese striped hamster (''Cricetulus barabensis''), also known as the striped dwarf hamster, is a species of

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

. It is distributed across

North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia () is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geography, geographical terms and consists of three federal districts of Russia: Ural Federal District, Ural, Siberian Federal District, Siberian, and the Far E ...

from southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

through

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

and northeastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to northern

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. An adult Chinese striped hamster weighs , and has a body length of with a tail of . It is smaller and has a much shorter tail than the greater long-tailed hamster, ''Tscherskia triton'', which inhabits much of the same range.

Taxonomy

The Chinese striped hamster was first described in 1773 as ''Cricetulus barabensis'' by the German zoologist

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussia, Prussian zoologist, botanist, Ethnography, ethnographer, Exploration, explorer, Geography, geographer, Geology, geologist, Natura ...

. There is some confusion over the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name of the Chinese striped hamster and the closely related

Chinese hamster The Chinese hamster (''Cricetulus griseus'' or ''Cricetulus barabensis griseus'') is a rodent in the genus '' Cricetulus'' of the subfamily Cricetidae that originated in the deserts of northern China and Mongolia. They are distinguished by an unco ...

. Some people consider the Chinese hamster (''Cricetulus griseus'') and the Chinese striped hamster (''Cricetulus barabensis'') different species, whereas others classify them as identical, the Chinese striped hamster as a subspecies of the Chinese hamster (in which case the Latin name of the Chinese striped hamster would be ''Cricetulus griseus barabensis'') or the other way round (in which case the Latin name of the Chinese hamster would be ''Cricetulus barabensis griseus''). Six subspecies are recognised; ''C. b. humatus'' is found in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

and

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

; ''C. b. griseus'' is found in

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

, Inner Mongolia,

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

and

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

; ''C. b. manchuricus'' is found in eastern

; ''C. b. obscurus'' is found in Inner Mongolia,

Ningxia Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...

, eastern

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

, northern

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

and

; ''C. b. pseudogriseus''; and ''C. b. xinganensis'' is found in northern Heilongjiang and northeastern Inner Mongolia.

Description

The Chinese striped hamster has a head and body length of between and a tail length of and a weight of . The snout is short, the eyes set wide apart and the ears are neat and rounded, blackish fringed with white. The dorsal surface is pale greyish-brown with a faint blackish dorsal stripe running along the spine. The underparts are grey, the hairs having white tips. The tail is about thirty percent of the combined length of the head and body.

Distribution and habitat

The Chinese striped hamster is native to central and eastern Asia. Its range includes

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

, the Trans-Baikal region,

, northeastern

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Its typical habitat is arid and semiarid grasslands,

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

and

semi-desert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

. It also occupies farmland and sometimes moves into buildings.

Behaviour

The Chinese striped hamster digs a burrow in which several individuals live. This is up to a metre long and up to half a metre below the surface of the ground. There are usually several entrances about in diameter and side passages ending in storage chambers or nesting chambers. This hamster is most active in the early hours of the night when it emerges from its burrow to forage for seeds of grains and

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

s. It carries food in its cheek pouches and excess food is stored in the burrow. It hibernates during the winter, emerging in February or March. Reproductive activity takes place through spring, summer and autumn, and there may be as many as five litters in this period. Breeding peaks in March and April, and there is another peak in autumn. The average litter size is six or seven, but up to ten offspring have been recorded.

Status

The Chinese striped hamster has a wide range and a large total population. It has been recorded from some protected areas and is a common species. The population trend is unknown, but no particular threats have been identified other than loss of habitat through

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

or wildfires, and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed the hamster's conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1052072 Cricetulus Mammals described in 1773 Rodents of Asia Rodents of China Mammals of Korea Mammals of Mongolia Mammals of Siberia Least concern biota of Asia Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas