Birch mice (genus ''Sicista'') are small jumping

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 n ...

s 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 Sminthidae is a family of mouse-like jumping rodents. They are represented by only one extant genus, ''Sicista'', represented by 19 species found throughout most of Eurasia, from central Europe east to Siberia, and south to southern China. However, ...

. 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 gras ...

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 w ...

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 s ...

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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 ...

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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, grain ...

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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, grains ...

'' *

Caucasian birch mouse 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 ...

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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 ...

'' *

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 list ...

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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 list ...

'' * 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 ...

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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 thr ...

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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 thr ...

'' * 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 o ...

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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 ...

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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 A ...

'' *

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 ...

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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 ...

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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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an islan ...

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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 transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is ...

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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 is ...

'' *

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 ...

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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'' * Terskey birch mouse, '' Sicista terskeica'' * Tien Shan birch mouse, '' Sicista tianshanica'' * Hungarian birch mouse, '' Sicista trizona'' * Zhetysu birch mouse, '' Sicista zhetysuica''

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 {{rodent-stub