Eversmann's hamster (''Allocricetulus eversmanni'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

in the family

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At over 870 species, it is either the largest or second-largest family ...

, and is one of two members of the genus ''Allocricetulus''. It is named after the Russian naturalist,

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

, and explorer

Eduard Friedrich Eversmann Alexander Eduard Friedrich Eversmann (23 January 1794 – 14 April 1860) was a Prussian biologist and explorer. Early life and education Eversmann was born in Westphalia on 23 January 1794 and studied at the universities of Marburg, Halle, Ber ...

, who collected the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of this species. It is found in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

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 ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Taxonomy & Subspecies

The Evermann’s hamster has a notable

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: ''Allocricetulus eversmanni pseudocurtatus''. This hamster is similar in appearance to the Mongolian hamster (''Allocricetulus curtatus''); however its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of 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 discerned by de ...

is nearly identical to that of the Eversmann's hamster (''Allocricetulus eversmanni''). There are karyological and morphological differences between ''Allocricetulus eversmanni pseudocurtatus'' and ''Allocricetulus eversmanni'' which support the idea that these subspecies form sister clades.

References

Mammals described in 1859 Allocricetulus Mammals of Central Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of Kazakhstan Mammals of Russia Rodents of China Taxa named by Johann Friedrich von Brandt {{Cricetidae-stub