Cansumys G. M. Allen 1928

Cansumys G. M. Allen 1928, J. Mammal., 9: 244.

Type Species: Cansumys canus G. M. Allen 1928

Species and subspecies: 1 species:

Species Cansumys canus G. M. Allen 1928

Discussion: Formerly considered a synonym of Cricetulus (Corbet, 1978 c; Ellerman, 1941; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951) or Tscherskia (Carleton and Musser, 1984; Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987). Ross (1988) underscored the combination of unusual pelage pattern, large body size, long hairy tail, and high-crowned (but rooted) selenodont-like molars that makes Cansumys unique among cricetines, and subsequent workers have supported its obvious generic separation from Cricetulus and Tscherskia (Corbet and Hill, 1992; Musser and Carleton, 1993; Pavlinov et al., 1995 a). Zhang et al. (1997) recognized canus but retained Cansumys in Cricetulus, without explanation.