Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family

Sminthidae Sminthidae is a family of mouse-like jumping rodents. They are represented by only one extant genus, '' Sicista'', represented by 19 species found throughout most of Eurasia, from central Europe east to Siberia, and south to southern China. How ...

. They are native to Eurasian forests and

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 ...

s. All variants possess a long tail of of length and weigh about . Head and body length of and hind foot length of . The animal's skin color is light brown or dark-brown to brownish yellow on the upper side and paler on the underside, but generally brownish. Birch mice have a vast geographic distribution in that they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semiarid areas to subalpine meadows. Although they have a diverse region of areas, their molecular and anatomical markers have claimed that Birch mice originated from Central Asia. Birch mice have a systematic of the genus of ''Sicista'', they look at the male reproductive organs and cytogenic data.

Species

Nineteen species are listed by the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence ...

as of 2021: *

Armenian birch mouse The Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. Description It is a small rodent, like the mouse, the average weight of 10 g and up to 9 cm long, excluding the semi-prehensile tail, which sl ...

, '' Sicista armenica'' *

Northern birch mouse The northern birch mouse (''Sicista betulina'') is a small rodent about long (without the tail), weighing . It lives in northern Europe and Asia in forest and marsh zones. It hibernates in burrows. It eats shoots, grains, berries, and sometime ...

, ''

Sicista betulina The northern birch mouse (''Sicista betulina'') is a small rodent about long (without the tail), weighing . It lives in northern Europe and Asia in forest and marsh zones. It hibernation, hibernates in burrows. It eats shoots, grains, berries, ...

'' *

Caucasian birch mouse The Caucasian birch mouse (''Sicista caucasica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae, that is endemic to Russia. Reports that it occurs in Turkey probably refer to Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica''), from which it can only ...

, ''

Sicista caucasica The Caucasian birch mouse (''Sicista caucasica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae, that is endemic to Russia. Reports that it occurs in Turkey probably refer to Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica''), from which it can only b ...

'' *

Long-tailed birch mouse The long-tailed birch mouse (''Sicista caudata'') is a species of birch mouse found in Northeast Asia. It has been reported from the Ussuri region of Manchuria, Sakhalin Island and Primorsky Krai in Russia, and northern North Korea. It is ...

, '' Sicista caudata'' * Tsimlyansk birch mouse, ''

Sicista cimlanica Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian for ...

'' *

Chinese birch mouse ''Sicista concolor'', the Chinese birch mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is native to China, India and Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of ...

, '' Sicista concolor'' *

Kazbeg birch mouse The Kazbeg birch mouse (''Sicista kazbegica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is found in Georgia and Russia and has a natural habitat of temperate forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological ...

, '' Sicista kazbegica'' *

Kluchor birch mouse The Kluchor birch mouse (''Sicista kluchorica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, l ...

, ''

Sicista kluchorica The Kluchor birch mouse (''Sicista kluchorica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, l ...

'' *

Nordmann's birch mouse Nordmann's birch mouse (''Sicista loriger'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is named after Finnish biologist Alexander von Nordmann. It is native to Eastern Europe, eastern and Southeast Europe, southeastern Europe. T ...

, '' Sicista loriger'' *

Altai birch mouse The Altai birch mouse (''Sicista napaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is native to Russia and Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a E ...

, ''

Sicista napaea The Altai birch mouse (''Sicista napaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is native to Russia and Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a E ...

'' *

Gray birch mouse The gray birch mouse (''Sicista pseudonapaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Kazakhstan, but possibly ranges into China. Its natural habitat is temperate forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized ...

, ''

Sicista pseudonapaea The gray birch mouse (''Sicista pseudonapaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Kazakhstan, but possibly ranges into China. Its natural habitat is temperate forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized ...

'' *

Severtzov's birch mouse The Severtzov's birch mouse, or dark birch mouse (''Sicista severtzovi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to East-European steppes (E Ukraine and S-W Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country s ...

, ''

Sicista severtzovi The Severtzov's birch mouse, or dark birch mouse (''Sicista severtzovi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to East-European steppes (E Ukraine and S-W Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country s ...

'' *

Strand's birch mouse Strand's birch mouse (''Sicista strandi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and de ...

, ''

Sicista strandi Strand's birch mouse (''Sicista strandi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and de ...

'' *

Southern birch mouse The southern birch mouse (''Sicista subtilis'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is native to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and potentially northern Mongolia and China. Taxonomy The Hungarian birch mouse (''S. trizona'' ...

, ''

Sicista subtilis The southern birch mouse (''Sicista subtilis'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is native to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and potentially northern Mongolia and China. Taxonomy The Hungarian birch mouse (''S. trizona'') ...

'' * Talgar birch mouse, '' Sicista talgarica'' * Terskey birch mouse, ''

Sicista terskeica Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian for ...

'' *

Tien Shan birch mouse The Tien Shan birch mouse (''Sicista tianshanica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Description The Tien Shan birch mouse grows to a length of about with a tail length of about o ...

, '' Sicista tianshanica'' *

Hungarian birch mouse The Hungarian birch mouse (''Sicista trizona'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It was once found throughout Central Europe and Romania, but is now only known from two isolated populations in Hungary and Transylvania in Roma ...

, '' Sicista trizona'' * Zhetysu birch mouse, '' Sicista zhetysuica''

Phylogeny

All species of ''Sicista'' cluster into five major lineages: ''S. betulina'', ''S. caucasica'', ''S. caudata'', ''S. tianschanica'', and ''S. concolor''.

References

Sminthidae Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{rodent-stub