Mesocricetus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mesocricetus Fossil range: Early Pliocene - Recent |
||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Species | ||||||||||||||
Mesocricetus auratus |
Mesocricetus is a genus of Old World hamsters, including the Golden hamster 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).
[edit] Species
- Mesocricetus auratus: Golden hamster
- Mesocricetus brandti: Turkish hamster, or Brandt's hamster
- Mesocricetus newtoni: Romanian Hamster
- Mesocricetus raddei: Ciscaucasian Hamster
[edit] References
- http://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: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology. doi:10.1007/s00359-008-0316-4
|