Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Small Mammal Pets/Answer Key"

Revision as of 16:37, 7 January 2007

Template:Taxobox The Chinese Hamster is a species of hamster, scientific names Cricetulus griseus, which originates in the deserts of northern China and Mongolia. These animals grow to between 7.5 and 9 cm in length and as adults can weigh 50-75 grams. They live two to three years on average. The Chinese hamster is often kept as a pet or (in the past) as a laboratory animal.

A Chinese hamster's body proportions, compared with those of other hamsters, appear "long and thin" and they have (for a hamster) a relatively long tail. Chinese hamsters are not related to the social "dwarf" hamsters. The term "dwarf" is often used to refer solely to animals in the genus Phodopus, (the two types of Russian Dwarf Hamsters and Roborovskii Dwarf Hamsters).

The wild colour is greyish brown above with a black stripe down the spine and a whitish belly. This coloration, combined with their lithe build and longer tail, makes them look "mousy" to some eyes and, in fact, they are members of the group called mouselike hamsters. Besides the wild colour, a well-known variation is the white-spotted Chinese hamster, which often is greyish white all over, with only a dark stripe on its back.

They have quiet temperaments and are easily handled; one of their endearing traits is that of clinging to a finger with all four paws, rather like a harvest mouse on a corn stalk. Chinese hamsters can be quite nervous as youngsters but, once they are tame, display an endearing calmness and gentleness of character.

In the past, Chinese hamsters were commonly used laboratory animals, until they were replaced by the common mouse and rat, which are easier to keep and breed. However, quite a few biotech drugs are still being produced by putting the gene for the protein into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, which then produce the protein.

Of note, some US states such as California regard the Chinese hamster as a pest, and as a result require a special permit to own, breed or sell. Other states such as New Jersey call it an exotic animal, and require a similar permit, in order to prevent the proliferation of non-indigenous animals.

The latin name

There is quite some confusion over the latin name of the Chinese hamster and the closely related Chinese striped hamster. Some people consider the Chinese hamster (Cricetulus griseus) and the Chinese striped hamster (Cricetulus barabensis) different species [1], whereas others classify them as identical [2], the Chinese striped hamster as a subspecies of the Chinese hamster (in which case the latin name of the Chinese striped hamster would be Cricetulus griseus barabensis) [3] or the other way round (in which case the latin name of the Chinese hamster would be Cricetulus barabensis griseus) [4]. Chinese hamsters are not so large. They are kept as pets in most palces. If they are so large they are not so quick.

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 {{Taxobox
 | color = pink
-| name = Syrian or Golden Hamster
+| name = Chinese Hamster
-| status = EN
+| image = Chinese Hamster.jpg
-| status_system = iucn2.3
+| image_width = 220px
-| image = Golden_hamster_front_1.jpg
+| image_caption = Chinese hamster, white-spotted type
-| image_width = 250px
 | regnum = [[Animal]]ia
 | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
-| subphylum = [[Vertebrate|Vertebrata]]
 | classis = [[Mammal]]ia
 | ordo = [[Rodent]]ia
-| subordo = [[Myomorpha]]
-| superfamilia = [[Muroidea]]
 | familia = [[Cricetidae]]
-| subfamilia = [[Cricetinae]]
+| genus = ''[[Cricetulus]]''
-| genus = ''[[Mesocricetus]]''
+| species = '''''C. griseus'''''
-| species = '''''M. auratus'''''
+| binomial = ''Cricetulus griseus''
-| binomial = ''Mesocricetus auratus''
+| binomial_authority = Milne-Edwards, 1867
-| binomial_authority = [[George Robert Waterhouse|Waterhouse]], 1839
 }}
+The '''Chinese Hamster''' is a species of [[hamster]], scientific names ''Cricetulus griseus'', which originates in the [[desert]]s of northern [[China]] and [[Mongolia]]. These animals grow to between 7.5 and 9 cm in length and as adults can weigh 50-75 grams. They live two to three years on average. The Chinese hamster is often kept as a pet or (in the past) as a laboratory animal.
-The '''Syrian Hamster''' or '''Golden Hamster''', ''Mesocricetus auratus'', is the best known member of the [[rodent]] [[subfamily]] [[Cricetinae]], the [[hamster]]s.  In the wild they are now considered endangered <ref>{{IUCN2006|assessors=Baillie|year=1996|id=13219|title=Mesocricetus auratus|downloaded=09 May 2006}} Listed as Endangered (EN B1+2c v2.3)</ref>, but are popular as housepets and scientific research animals.  Adults grow from 5 to 7 inches (12.5 to 17.5 cm ) in length, and will usually have a lifespan of 2 to 3 years.
+A Chinese hamster's body proportions, compared with those of other hamsters, appear "long and thin" and they have (for a hamster) a relatively long tail. Chinese hamsters are not related to the social [[dwarf hamster|"dwarf" hamsters]]. The term "dwarf" is often used to refer solely to animals in the genus ''Phodopus'', (the two types of [[Phodopus sungorus|Russian Dwarf Hamster]]s and [[Phodopus roborovski|Roborovskii Dwarf Hamster]]s).
-==Biology==
+The wild colour is greyish brown above with a black stripe down the spine and a whitish belly.  This coloration, combined with their lithe build and longer tail, makes them look "mousy" to some eyes and, in fact, they are members of the group called [[mouselike hamster]]s. Besides the wild colour, a well-known variation is the white-spotted Chinese hamster, which often is greyish white all over, with only a dark stripe on its back.
-Like most members of the subfamily, the Syrian Hamster has expandable cheek pouches, which extend from its cheeks to its shoulders.  In the wild, hamsters are [[larder hoarding|larder hoarders]]; they use their cheek pouches to transport food to their burrows.  Their name in the local [[Arabic language|Arabic]] dialect where they were found translates to "father of saddlebags" due to the remarkable amount of storage space in their cheek pouches.  If food is plentiful, they will store it in large amounts--it has been reported that 25 kg of grain was found in the burrow of a single hamster.
-[[Image:Hamst08082002.JPG|thumb|left|Syrian hamster filling its cheek pouches with dandelion leaves.]]
-Sexually mature female hamsters come into season ([[oestrus]]) every four days.  Putting a male and female hamster together when the female is not in heat may result in the female attacking the male.  Syrian Hamsters have the shortest gestation period in any known mammal at only 16 to 18 days.  They can produce large litters of 20 or more young, although the average litter size is 8.  If a mother hamster is inexperienced or feels threatened, she may abandon or even cannibalise her pups. It is inadvisable for inexperienced owners to breed them.
-Most hamsters in American and British pet stores are Syrian Hamsters.  Originally, Syrian Hamsters came in just one colour — the mixture of brown, black, and gold which gave them their "Golden" name — but they have since developed a myriad of colour mutations such as cream, white, blonde, banded, tortoiseshell, calico, and sable.  Therefore in pet stores today, ''Golden Hamster'' is only used to label the original coloration (also known as agouti).  Other-coloured short-hairs are banded under the label ''Fancy Hamster''.  ''Teddy Bear'' is a term used to describe the long-haired variety of the Syrian Hamster, named so for their remarkable resemblance to toy teddy bears.  They are also sometimes known as "angora hamsters".  Male teddy bear hamsters usually have much longer fur than the female variety, culminating in a "skirt" of longer fur around their backsides.  ''Black Bears'' are a recent off-shoot of teddy bear hamsters (mutation discovered in 1985), with their major difference being their black-coloured fur. It can be argued that black bears are just black teddy bears rather than their own breed; on the other hand, black bears were originally selectively bred for their larger size and more docile nature as well as their colour.  However, in current stock, this may or may not still be the case.
+They have quiet temperaments and are easily handled; one of their endearing traits is that of clinging to a finger with all four paws, rather like a harvest mouse on a corn stalk.  Chinese hamsters can be quite nervous as youngsters but, once they are tame, display an endearing calmness and gentleness of character.
-Syrian Hamsters are wildly popular as housepets due to their docile, inquisitive natures and small size.  They are popular as "first pets" for young children, as well as being classroom animals, because of their hardiness and relative ease of care.  Some pet owners find them more attractive in relation to rats and other rodents due to their lack of visible tails.  Syrian Hamsters are notoriously territorial, however.  Even tame Syrian Hamsters will frequently attack and, indeed, kill, other adult hamsters.  When kept as pets, Syrians must be housed in single sex groups after the age of six weeks, and housed individually by the time they are ten weeks old.
+In the past, Chinese hamsters were commonly used [[Experimental animal|laboratory animals]], until they were replaced by the common mouse and rat, which are easier to keep and breed. However, quite a few biotech drugs are still being produced by putting the gene for the protein into [[Chinese Hamster Ovary cell|Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells]], which then produce the protein.
-Syrian Hamsters have also been used in scientific research — in the study of many diseases, as well as in the study of behaviour.  They have a number of [[fixed action pattern]]s that are readily observed, including scent-marking.  They are particularly used in airway and respiratory physiology research.
+Of note, some [[US]] states such as [[California]] regard the Chinese hamster as a [[Pest (organism)|pest]], and as a result require a special permit to own, breed or sell.  Other states such as [[New Jersey]] call it an [[Introduced species|exotic animal]], and require a similar permit, in order to prevent the proliferation of non-indigenous animals.
-== Discovery ==
+==The latin name==
+There is quite some confusion over the latin name of the Chinese hamster and the closely related [[Chinese striped hamster]]. Some people consider the Chinese hamster (''Cricetulus griseus'') and the Chinese striped hamster (''Cricetulus barabensis'') different species [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Undef&id=10028], whereas others classify them as identical [http://walnut.bioc.columbia.edu/srs7bin/cgi-bin/wgetz?-id+4mKAd1Sl9c0+%5Btaxonomy-ID:10029%5D+-e], the Chinese striped hamster as a subspecies of the Chinese hamster (in which case the latin name of the Chinese striped hamster would be ''Cricetulus griseus barabensis'') [http://www.ratbehavior.org/pet_rodent_classification.htm] or the other way round (in which case the latin name of the Chinese hamster would be ''Cricetulus barabensis griseus'') [http://www.napak.com/chinese_hamster.html].
-[[Image:hamster.jpg|thumb|right|dark-eared white hamster
+Chinese hamsters are not so large. They are kept as pets in most palces. If they are so large they are not so quick.
-U-G-L-Y!!!]]
-In [[1839]] [[Britain|British]] [[zoologist]] [[George Robert Waterhouse]] reportedly found an elderly female hamster in Syria, naming it ''Cricetus auratus,'' the Golden Hamster.  The hamster's fur was on display at the [[British Museum (Natural History)]].  The Syrian Hamster was then ignored by European science for the next century.
-In 1930, [[Israel Aharoni]], a zoologist and professor at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], captured a mother hamster and her litter of babies in the [[Syria|Syrian]] desert.  By the time he got back to his lab, most had died or escaped.  The remaining three hamsters were given to his university, where they were successfully bred.  Because they were a bit bigger than the ones Waterhouse found, they were named ''Mesocricetus auratus''.  ''Mesocricetus auratus'' is the currently accepted scientific name of the Syrian Hamster.
-Descendants of these hamsters were shipped to scientific labs around the world for use as research animals.  They arrived in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1931, and reached the United States in 1938.  Soon after their initial discovery, they were found to make great pets.  Just about all captive Syrian Hamsters today are descended from the original litter found in Syria, except for a few that were brought into the United States by travellers who found them in the desert.  A separate stock of hamsters was imported into the US in 1971, but it is not known if any of today's North American pets are descended from them.
-==Surviving in the wild==
-In the beginning of the 20th century, the Syrian golden hamster was considered as being extinct in the wild by unknown reason until Professor Aharoni of Jerusalem Hebraic University collected one female and her 12 broods in [[Aleppo]].<ref name="Hochman"> Hochman B, Ferreira LM, Vilas Bôas FC, Mariano M. Experimental model in hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) to study heterologous graft of scars and cutaneous diseases in plastic surgery. Acta Cir Bras [serial online] 2004 Vol 19 Special Edition. [http://www.scielo.br/pdf/acb/v19s1/v19s1a12.pdf Online pdf]</ref> After that some later sightings and captures were reported. Since the 1980s this species was not seen anymore in the wild, until two expeditions were carried out during September [[1997]] and March [[1999]] to confirm the current existence of the wild golden hamster in northern [[Syria]]. The researchers mapped 30 burrows. None of the inhabited burrows contained more than one adult. They caught six females and seven males. One female was pregnant and gave birth to six pups. All these 19 caught wild golden hamsters, together with three wild individuals from the University of Aleppo, were shipped to [[Germany]] to form a new breeding stock.<ref name="Gattermann">Gattermann et al. 2001. Notes on the current distribution and the ecology of wild golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Journal of Zoology, 254: 359-365 (Cambridge University Press). [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=78463 Online abstract]</ref>
-==Gallery==
-<gallery>
-Image:100_983.jpg|A Golden Hamster
-Image:Golden_hamster_side_1.jpg|Golden Hamster
-image:Jan2306_122.jpg|male teddy bear hamster
-</gallery>
-==See also==
-*[[Hamster]]
 ==References==
-<references/>
+*[http://www.napak.com/chinese_hamster.html The Chinese Hamster]
-==External links==
-*[http://www.syrianhamster.com Syrian Hamster]
 *[http://www.hamster-heaven.com Hamster Heaven]
-*[http://www.hamsterific.com Hamsterific.com]
+*[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/mammalia/rodentia/cricetidae/cricetulus/index.html Taxonomy of hamsters]
+*[http://www.ratbehavior.org/pet_rodent_classification.htm Pet rodent classification]
+*[http://www.mike-duquette.org/Hamster_Pages/species.htm Hamster species]
-*[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=10036&lvl=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock Genome information]
+==See also==
-*[http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/syrian_hamsters.htm Petwebsite Entry on Syrians]
+*[[Chinese Striped Hamster]]
-*[http://hometown.aol.com/TheRiverRd/ The River Road Hamstery]- Very good information on hamster breeding, especially for coat types
-*[http://www.hamsoc.org.uk/varieties.php The Hamster Society]
-*[http://www.rabbitsnrodents.com/hamsters.htm/ Rabbits N' Rodents]
-*[http://www.razthehamster.com/gallery RaztheHamster] - Syrian Hamster Gallery
 [[Category:Hamsters]]
 [[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
-[[bg:Златист хамстер]]
+[[fr:Hamster de Chine]]
-[[da:Guldhamstere]]
+[[ja:チャイニーズハムスター]]
-[[de:Goldhamster]]
+[[hr:Kineski hrčak]]
-[[fr:Hamster doré]]
+[[nl:Chinese dwerghamster]]
-[[it:Mesocricetus auratus]]
+[[pl:Chomik chiński]]
-[[he:אוגר זהוב]]
-[[nl:Goudhamster]]
-[[ja:ゴールデンハムスター]]
-[[nn:Syrisk hamster]]
-[[pl:Chomik syryjski]]
-[[fi:Kultahamsteri]]
-[[sv:Guldhamster]]
-[[zh:敘利亞倉鼠]]