Allocricetulus curtatus (G. M. Allen 1925)

[Allocricetulus] curtatus (G. M. Allen 1925), Am. Mus . Novit., 179: 3.

Type Locality: China, W Nei Mongol, Iren Dabasu (= Ehrlien).

Vernacular Names: Mongolian Hamster.

Distribution: Mongolian steppes north of the Altai and in adjacent China in NW Xinjiang, N Gansu, N Ningxia (Qin, 1991), Anhui (Liu et al., 1985), and Nei Mongol; see Zhang et al. (1997, mapped as C. eversmanni).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Although some systematists have treated curtatus as a subspecies of A. eversmanni (G. M. Allen, 1940; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951; Ma et al., 1987), most have continued to recognize it as a separate species (Corbet, 1978 c; Corbet and Hill, 1991; Gromov and Erbajeva, 1995; Musser and Carleton, 1993; Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987, 1998; Pavlinov et al., 1995 a). A fresh perspective is required to validate its specific status.