Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping
rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family
Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian forests and
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
s. All variants possess a long tail of of length and weigh about . Head and body length of and hind foot length of .
The animal's skin color is light brown or dark-brown to brownish yellow on the upper side and paler on the underside, but generally brownish.
Birch mice have a vast geographic distribution in that they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semiarid areas to subalpine meadows.
Species
Nineteen species are listed by the
American Society of Mammalogists
The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...
as of 2021:
*
Armenian birch mouse
The Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae.
Description
It is a small rodent, like the mouse, the average weight of 10 g and up to 9 cm long, excluding the semi-prehensile tail, which sl ...
, ''
Sicista armenica
The Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae.
Description
It is a small rodent, like the mouse, the average weight of 10 g and up to 9 cm long, excluding the semi-prehensile tail, which sl ...
''
*
Northern birch mouse
The northern birch mouse (''Sicista betulina'') is a small rodent about 5 to 8 cm long (without the tail), weighing 5 to 13 g. It lives in northern Europe and Asia in forest and marsh zones.
It hibernates in burrows. It eats shoots, grai ...
, ''
Sicista betulina
The northern birch mouse (''Sicista betulina'') is a small rodent about 5 to 8 cm long (without the tail), weighing 5 to 13 g. It lives in northern Europe and Asia in forest and marsh zones.
It hibernates in burrows. It eats shoots, grai ...
''
*
Caucasian birch mouse
The Caucasian birch mouse (''Sicista caucasica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae, that is endemic to Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern ...
, ''
Sicista caucasica
The Caucasian birch mouse (''Sicista caucasica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae, that is endemic to Russia. Reports that it occurs in Turkey probably refer to Armenian birch mouse (''Sicista armenica''), from which it can only b ...
''
*
Long-tailed birch mouse
The long-tailed birch mouse (''Sicista caudata'') is a species of birch mouse found in Northeast Asia. It has been reported from the Ussuri region of Manchuria, Sakhalin Island and Primorsky Krai in Russia, and northern North Korea. It is liste ...
, ''
Sicista caudata
The long-tailed birch mouse (''Sicista caudata'') is a species of birch mouse found in Northeast Asia. It has been reported from the Ussuri region of Manchuria, Sakhalin Island and Primorsky Krai in Russia, and northern North Korea. It is lis ...
''
*
Tsimlyansk birch mouse, ''
Sicista cimlanica
Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian for ...
''
*
Chinese birch mouse
''Sicista concolor'', the Chinese birch mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae
Sminthidae is a family of mouse-like jumping rodents. They are represented by only one extant genus, ''Sicista'', represented by 19 species found thro ...
, ''
Sicista concolor
''Sicista concolor'', the Chinese birch mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae
Sminthidae is a family of mouse-like jumping rodents. They are represented by only one extant genus, ''Sicista'', represented by 19 species found thro ...
''
*
Kazbeg birch mouse, ''
Sicista kazbegica''
*
Kluchor birch mouse
The Kluchor birch mouse (''Sicista kluchorica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of ...
, ''
Sicista kluchorica
The Kluchor birch mouse (''Sicista kluchorica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia. Its natural habitat is temperate forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of ...
''
*
Nordmann's birch mouse
Nordmann's birch mouse (''Sicista loriger'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is named after Finnish biologist Alexander von Nordmann. It is native to eastern and southeastern Europe.
Taxonomy
It was long thought to be ...
, ''
Sicista loriger''
*
Altai birch mouse
The Altai birch mouse (''Sicista napaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is native to Russia and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central ...
, ''
Sicista napaea
The Altai birch mouse (''Sicista napaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is native to Russia and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central ...
''
*
Gray birch mouse
The gray birch mouse (''Sicista pseudonapaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Kazakhstan, but possibly ranges into China. Its natural habitat is temperate forest
A forest is an area of land dominated b ...
, ''
Sicista pseudonapaea
The gray birch mouse (''Sicista pseudonapaea'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Kazakhstan, but possibly ranges into China. Its natural habitat is temperate forest
A forest is an area of land dominated b ...
''
*
Severtzov's birch mouse
The Severtzov's birch mouse, or dark birch mouse (''Sicista severtzovi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to East-European steppes (E Ukraine and S-W Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a t ...
, ''
Sicista severtzovi
The Severtzov's birch mouse, or dark birch mouse (''Sicista severtzovi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to East-European steppes (E Ukraine and S-W Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a ...
''
*
Strand's birch mouse
Strand's birch mouse (''Sicista strandi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eas ...
, ''
Sicista strandi
Strand's birch mouse (''Sicista strandi'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is endemic to Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It ...
''
*
Southern birch mouse
The southern birch mouse (''Sicista subtilis'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is native to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and potentially northern Mongolia and China.
Taxonomy
The Hungarian birch mouse (''S. trizona'' ...
, ''
Sicista subtilis
The southern birch mouse (''Sicista subtilis'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It is native to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and potentially northern Mongolia and China.
Taxonomy
The Hungarian birch mouse (''S. trizona'' ...
''
*
Talgar birch mouse, ''
Sicista talgarica
Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian for ...
''
*
Terskey birch mouse, ''
Sicista terskeica''
*
Tien Shan birch mouse
The Tien Shan birch mouse (''Sicista tianshanica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Description
The Tien Shan birch mouse grows to a length of about with a tail length of about ...
, ''
Sicista tianshanica
The Tien Shan birch mouse (''Sicista tianshanica'') is a species of rodent in the family Sminthidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Description
The Tien Shan birch mouse grows to a length of about with a tail length of abo ...
''
*
Hungarian birch mouse
The Hungarian birch mouse (''Sicista trizona'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It was once found throughout Central Europe and Romania, but is now only known from two isolated populations in Hungary and Transylvania in Rom ...
, ''
Sicista trizona
The Hungarian birch mouse (''Sicista trizona'') is a species of birch mouse in the family Sminthidae. It was once found throughout Central Europe and Romania, but is now only known from two isolated populations in Hungary and Transylvania in Roma ...
''
*
Zhetysu birch mouse
Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, United States National Geospatial-I ...
, ''
Sicista zhetysuica
Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They are native to Eurasian fo ...
''
Phylogeny
All species of ''Sicista'' cluster into five major lineages: ''S. betulina'', ''S. caucasica'', ''S. caudata'', ''S. tianschanica'', and ''S. concolor''.
References
Sminthidae
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
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