Cricetulus sokolovi Orlov and Malygin, 1988 . Zool. Zh., 67:305.

TYPE LOCALITY: W Mongolia .

DISTRIBUTION: W and S Mongolia, C Nei Mongol of N China.

COMMENTS: A distinctive species defined by diagnostic chromosomal and pelage traits (Orlov and Malygin, 1988). Samples from the Mongolian segment of the range had been identified as C. obscurus (Krâl et al., 1984, and references therein; Orlov and Malygin, 1988); real obscurus is a form of C. barabensis .