The Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster (''Calomyscus bailwardi'') is a relatively little-known

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

which was the first species of

mouse-like hamster image:Calo03.jpg, 200px, right image:Calo13.jpg, 200px, Mouse-like hamster using its tail for balance while standing on a branch (a feat difficult for hamsters) Mouse-like hamsters are a group of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Tu ...

to be described. The species is distributed throughout much of southern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, particularly in the

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

mountains. It is also known as the Iranian mouse-like hamster, though there are several species of mouse-like hamster found in different parts of Iran. This is the largest species of mouse-like hamster. They are dark grey on top and white underneath. They are found in habitat ranging from barren rocky hillsides to wetter regions. They are known to feed on herbs and grass seed. Graphodatsky et al. (2000) recovered three distinct

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

s from different regions throughout the range of C. bailwardi (2n=37, FNa=44; 2n=52, FNa=56; 2n=50, FNa=50). This may suggest that further taxonomic revision is required. Vorontsov et al. (1979) emphasized how little is known about the species and that the current definition is based largely on distribution. Many sources still refer to all members of '' Calomyscus'' as part of the species ''Calomyscus bailwardi''.

References

* *Graphodotsky, A. S., et al. 2000. Comparative cytogenetics of hamsters of the genus Calomyscus. Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics, 88:296-304. *Lay, D. M. 1967. A study of the mammals of Iran resulting from the Street Expedition of 1962-1963. Fieldiana: Zoology, 54:1-282. * *Schlitter, D. A. and H. W. Setzer. 1973. New Rodents (Mammalia: Cricetidae, Muridae) from Iran and Pakistan. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 86:163-174. *Vorontsov, N. N., I. Kartavtseva, and E. G. Potapova. 1979. ystematics of the genus Calomyscus. 1. Karyological differentiation of the sibling species from Transcaucasia and Turkmenia and a review of species in the genus Calomyscus(in Russian). Zoologichaskii Zhurual, 58:1391-1397. {{Taxonbar, from=Q305738 Mouse-like hamsters Mouse-like Hamster, Zagros Mountains Fauna of Iran Mammals described in 1905 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas