Table of Contents
Overview
Distribution
Range Description
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Geographic Range
Cricetus cricetus is found in Eurasia from Belgium to the Altai region of Siberia.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
The fur is light brown on the back, white on the sides and black on the belly (hence the name black-bellied hamster). There is a wide range of variation, however, including both albino and melanistic animals. The small tail is mostly hairless. Cricetus has cheek pouches.
Average mass: 506.7 g.
Average basal metabolic rate: 1.251 W.
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
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Habitat
The habitat of the common hamster includes steppe, agricultural land and riverbanks. Burrows are usually in loam of loess soils in the western part of the range.
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
The diet is diverse and includes grains, beans, lentils, roots, green parts of plants, insect larvae and frogs.
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Life History and Behavior
Life Expectancy
Lifespan/Longevity
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 2.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 4.0 years.
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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
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Reproduction
Reproduction
The breeding season in Cricetus lasts from April to August. It is not clear if males are driven away by females after mating or if the pair remains together to raise the offspring. Females normally have two litters of 4-12 young per year, though captive animals are capable of reproducing every month. Gestation is 18-20 days long and birth weight is usually about 7 grams. Young are weaned at 3 weeks and attain adult size at 8 weeks. Female are sexually mature at 43 days.
Average birth mass: 7 g.
Average gestation period: 20 days.
Average number of offspring: 7.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 56 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 43 days.
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Cricetus cricetus
Public Records: 0
Species: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Contributor/s
Justification
History
- 1996Lower Risk/least concern(Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
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Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Threats
Threats
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Management
Conservation Actions
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
In the past Cricetus was considered a serious agricultural pest because of its impact on corn and other crops. Modern agricultural techniques have diminished its impact.
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Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The common hamster is trapped in some parts of its range for skins.
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Wikipedia
European hamster
The European hamster, (Cricetus cricetus), also known as the black-bellied hamster or common hamster, is a hamster which is the only species of the genus Cricetus. It is native to a large global range, extending from western Europe, through central and eastern Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan, reaching as far east as the Yenisey river. The animal is widely considered a farmland pest, and has also been trapped for its fur. Across its global range it is considered of least concern but in many individual European countries it is considered critically endangered.
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Description
The European hamster has brown dorsal fur with white patches. The chest and belly are black. The tail is short and furred. It is much larger than the Syrian or dwarf hamsters which are commonly kept as pets. It weighs 220-460 g (8-16 ounces) and can grow to 20–35 cm (8-14 inches) long with a tail of 40–60 mm (1.5-2.3 inches). Its dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3.
Behavior
The common hamster is a nocturnal or crepuscular species. It lives singly but in a complex burrow system. It eats seeds, legumes, root vegetables and grasses and also insects. It transports its food in its elastic cheek pouches to the food storage chambers. These may be quite large and may consist of a total of 65g of food including 50g of potatoes and 15g of grain[1] It hibernates between October and March. During this time it wakes every five to seven days to feed from the storage chambers. The adults reach sexual maturity when they are about 43 days old and breed from early April to August. The gestation period is 18–20 days and the size of the litter ranges from 3–15 young which are weaned when aged three weeks.[1]
Distribution
It is typically found in low-lying farmland with soft loam or loess soils, although it may also inhabit meadows, gardens or hedges. It is found from Belgium (e.g. Bertem where there is a population) and Alsace in the west, to Russia in the east, and Romania in the south.
In captivity, the European hamster has an unusually long lifespan, living up to eight years.
The Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the European Union's highest court, ruled June 9, 2011 that France had failed to protect the European hamster. The court said that if France does not adjust its agricultural and urbanization policies sufficiently to protect it, the government will be subject to fines of as much as $24.6 million.[2]
References
- ^ a b MacDonald, David; Priscilla Barret (1993). Mammals of Britain & Europe. 1. London: HarperCollins. pp. 236–237. ISBN 0-00-219779-0.
- ^ Erlanger, Steven (9 June 2011). "France Is Scolded Over Care of Great Hamster of Alsace". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/world/europe/10hamsters.html. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- Kryštufek, B., Vohralík, V., Meinig, H. & Zagorodnyuk, I. 2008. Cricetus cricetus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. Downloaded on 17 October 2010.
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