''Mesocricetus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
hamster
Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera.Fox, Sue. 2006. ''Hamsters''. T.F.H. Publications Inc. They have become established as popular small pets. The b ...
s, including the
Syrian or golden hamster, the first hamster to be introduced as a domestic
pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...
, and still the most popular species of hamster for that purpose.
Recent research has shown that, unlike almost all other land mammals studied, all species of this genus lack the capacity for
color vision
Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of ...
.
Species
*''Mesocricetus auratus'':
Golden hamster
The golden hamster or Syrian hamster (''Mesocricetus auratus'') is a rodent belonging to the hamster subfamily, Cricetinae. Their natural geographical range is in an arid region of northern Syria and southern Turkey. Their numbers have been d ...
or Syrian hamster
*''Mesocricetus brandti'':
Turkish hamster
The Turkish hamster (''Mesocricetus brandti''), also referred to as Brandt's hamster, Azerbaijani hamster, or ''avurtlak'', is a species of hamster native to Turkey, Armenia and other surrounding nations. The Turkish hamster, first catalogued in ...
or Brandt's hamster
*''Mesocricetus newtoni'':
Romanian hamster or Dobrudja hamster
*''Mesocricetus raddei'':
Ciscaucasian hamster
Notes
References
*http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/mammalia/rodentia/cricetidae/mesocricetus/
*
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Alfred Nehring
{{Cricetidae-stub
da:Guldhamstere