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− | <table border="1" cellspacing="0" align="right" cellpadding="2" style = "margin-left: 0.5em;">
| + | Winter White hamsters are typically half the size of their larger counterpart, the [[Syrian hamster]]. It is debated whether they are a subspecies of the [[Dwarf Campbell's Russian]] hamster or a species unto themselves. Their features include a dorsal stripe that is typically dark grey and furry feet. The most amazing thing about these hamsters is that in the winter they will turn pure white with the exception of their dorsal stripe. They are more rare than the Campbell's hamster in the pet market. Campbell's hamsters and Winter White hamsters can mate and produce fertile offspring, but this is discouraged by professional breeders. These animals are known as [[hybrids]]. |
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− | <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="pink">'''Golden or Syrian Hamster'''</th></tr>
| + | In general, dwarf hamsters typically have more of a family structure than the Syrian hamster. Dwarf hamsters will happily live in mated pairs, with both male and female caring for the young. |
− | <tr><td>
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− | [[image:hamster.jpg]]<br>
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− | </td></tr>
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− | <tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>{{taxonomy}}</th></tr>
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− | <table align="center">
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− | <tr><td>{{Regnum}}:</td><td>[[Animalia]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Phylum}}:</td><td>[[Chordate|Chordata]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Subphylum}}:</td><td>[[Vertebrata]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Classis}}:</td><td>[[Mammalia]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Ordo}}:</td><td>[[Rodentia]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Subordo}}:</td><td>[[Sciurognathi]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Superfamilia}}:</td><td>[[Myomorpha]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Familia}}:</td><td>[[Cricetidae]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>{{Subfamilia}}:</td><td>[[Cricetinae]]</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>'''[[Genus]]''':</td><td>'''''[[Mesocricetus]]'''''</td></tr>
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− | <tr><td>'''[[Species]]''':</td><td>'''''auratus'''''</td></tr>
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− | </table>
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− | </td></tr>
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− | <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="pink">'''[[Binomial name]]'''</th></tr>
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− | <tr><th>''Mesocricetus auratus''</td></th>
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− | </table>
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− | The '''Syrian Hamster''' or '''Golden Hamster''', ''Mesocricetus auratus'', is the best known member of the [[rodent]] [[subfamily]] [[Cricetinae]], the [[hamster]]s. They may now be extinct in nature, but are popular as house pets all across the world, and are also used in scientific research. Adults grow from 5" to 7" in length, and in captivity will usually live from 2 to 3 years.
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− | Like most members of the subfamily, the Golden Hamster has expandable cheek pouches, which reach from its cheeks to its shoulders. In the wild, hamsters are [[larder hoarding|larder hoarders]], and they use their cheek pouches to transport food to their burrows. They can load a remarkable amount of food into their pouches; their name in the local dialect in the area where they are found translates as "father of saddlebags". If food is plentiful, they will store it in large amounts, and it has been reported that 25Kg of grain was found in the burrow of a single hamster.
| + | Winter White hamsters used to be only available in their typical light grey color, but they are now available in a variety of colors, However, these colors may be difficult to find. |
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− | Most hamsters in American and English pet stores are Syrian Hamsters. "Teddy Bear" is a term sometimes used for the longhaired variety of the Syrian Hamster, and the so-called "Black Bear" hamster is just a Syrian Hamster with black fur. All of them may well indeed be the descendants of a single mother.
| + | They generally make excellent pets, but are very small so not good for very young children. |
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− | Golden Hamsters have been used in scientific research, in the study of many diseases, and also in the study of behaviour. They have a number of [[fixed action pattern]]s that are readily observed, including scent-marking.
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− | == Discovery of the Syrian Hamster ==
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− | In [[1839]] [[British]] [[zoologist]] [[George 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. Around 1930, zoologist and Professor at the University of [[Jerusalem]] Aharoni found a mother and litter of hamsters in the [[Syria]]n desert. By the time he got back to his lab, most had died or escaped. The remaining hamsters were given to the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], where they were successfully bred. They were a bit bigger than the ones Waterhouse found, so they were named ''Mesocricetus auratus'', although they were probably the same species. ''Mesocricetus auratus'' is the currently accepted scientific name of Syrian Hamsters.
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− | 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 in 1938 reached the United States. Just about all Golden Hamsters 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 isn't known if any of today's North American pets are descended from them.
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− | ''See also [[Hamster]] for a general discussion of hamsters and hamsters as pets.''
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− | ==External link==
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− | *[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=10036&lvl=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock Genome information]
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− | [[de:Goldhamster]]
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Winter White hamsters are typically half the size of their larger counterpart, the Syrian hamster. It is debated whether they are a subspecies of the Dwarf Campbell's Russian hamster or a species unto themselves. Their features include a dorsal stripe that is typically dark grey and furry feet. The most amazing thing about these hamsters is that in the winter they will turn pure white with the exception of their dorsal stripe. They are more rare than the Campbell's hamster in the pet market. Campbell's hamsters and Winter White hamsters can mate and produce fertile offspring, but this is discouraged by professional breeders. These animals are known as hybrids.
In general, dwarf hamsters typically have more of a family structure than the Syrian hamster. Dwarf hamsters will happily live in mated pairs, with both male and female caring for the young.
Winter White hamsters used to be only available in their typical light grey color, but they are now available in a variety of colors, However, these colors may be difficult to find.
They generally make excellent pets, but are very small so not good for very young children.