Kam dwarf hamster
The Kham dwarf hamster ( Cricetulus kamensis ) is an entity belonging to the Tibetan dwarf hamsters type of hamster. Usually the Tibet dwarf hamsters and Cricetulus Tibetanus are assigned to it, in some classifications also the Ladakh dwarf hamsters. It inhabits the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau in China.
Body characteristics
The head-body length of the Kham- dwarf hamster is 88-112 mm, tail length 51-64 mm, the Hinterfußlänge 17-18 millimeters and the ear length of 16 to 18 millimeters. The greatest skull length is 27 to 29 millimeters and the body weight 20-40 grams.
The fur of the upper side is dark brown gray, but may be on the back of black spots or stripes. At the hip, the black coloration ranges down the upper part of the leg. The underside is gray-white, the hairs at the base dark and white at the top. On the flank form the contrasting colors of the upper and lower wave-like drawing. On top of the tail of a dark narrow strip, including at the top and extends it is completely white. The tail is thick and covered with Leithaaren.
The head is slightly convex so that the top surface is arched upwards. The front, outer edge of the parietal bone is round and dull and the intermediate parietal bone is not excessively low and flat. The bullae are small and the incisor holes are short and do not go back up to the level of the first upper molar tooth.
From Ladakh dwarf hamsters, dwarf hamsters from Tibet, of Cricetulus Tibetanus and the horror of dwarf hamsters, the Kham- dwarf hamster differs by more than five inches long tail and the black coloration of the hip.
Way of life
The habitat of the Kham- dwarf hamster are grasslands of the high mountains, shrubby swamps and open plains at altitudes of 3300-4100 meters. It is diurnal and nocturnal and feeds on grain, seeds of grasses and insects. His self -dug construction is 50 inches deep and serves the hoarding of grains of which it feeds in winter. The reproduction will take place between May and August is the peak in June and July. The number of pups per litter ranges from five to ten, most commonly seven to eight pups.
Distribution and population
- Red: approximate location of the type specimen
- Black: more localities
- Red: approximate location of the type specimen
- Black: more localities
The distribution area of Kham- dwarf hamster are the eastern Tibet, the northwest of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and the north-west of the south of Xinjiang. It is endemic in China. The World Conservation Union classifies it as not at risk.
Subspecies
Smith and Hoffmann ( 2008) distinguish two subspecies of Kham- hamster:
- Cricetulus kamensis kamensis ( Satunin, 1903 ) in the east of Tibet, in the northwest of Sichuan and Qinghai in the south and
- Cricetulus kamensis kozlovi ( Satunin, 1903 ) in the north of Qinghai, Gansu in the northwest and in the south of Xinjiang.
Cricetulus kamensis kamensis
Argiropulo (1933 ) takes the form kamensis as an independent species Cricetulus while loudly Ellerman and Morrison -Scott (1951) and Flint ( 1966) may be identical to the long-tailed dwarf hamster. The type specimen of Cricetulus kamensis kamensis was found on the river " Moktschjun " in the district of the Mekong Kham region in northeastern Tibet in 1903 and described by Konstantin Alexeyevich kamensis Satunin as Urocricetus.
Cricetulus kamensis kozlovi
Argiropulo (1933 ) takes the form as a distinct species Cricetulus kozlovi, Allen ( 1940) assigns contrast to the Daurian dwarf hamsters. According to Flint ( 1966) it is also possibly the same as the long-tailed dwarf hamster. Wang and Zheng (1973 ) Ascending kozlovi as a subjective synonym of the Kham- dwarf hamster, an assignment of some classifications follow ( Corbet, 1978; Honacki and staff, 1982; Musser and Carleton, 1993, 2005). According to Lebedev and Potapowa (2008) is the form, however, identical to the horror dwarf hamsters. The type specimen of Cricetulus kamensis kozlovi, bellows and skull fragments of a half-grown hamster, was found in the Nan Shan and as Urocricetus also kozlovi 1903 by Satunin described.