Cricetulus barabensis (Pallas 1773)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Cricetidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 955-1189 : 1041

Cricetulus barabensis (Pallas 1773)

[Cricetulus] barabensis (Pallas 1773) , Reise Prov. Russ. Reichs, Vol. 2: 704.

Type Locality: Russia, W Siberia, banks of Ob River, Kasmalinskii Bor (village in Altai Mtns; fide Pavlinov, 2002, in litt) .

Vernacular Names: Striped Dwarf Hamster.

Synonyms: Cricetulus ferrugineus Argyropulo 1941 ; Cricetulus fumatus Thomas 1909 ; Cricetulus furunculus (Pallas 1779) ; Cricetulus griseus ( Milne-Edwards 1867) ; Cricetulus manchuricus Mori 1930 ; Cricetulus mongolicus (Thomas 1888) ; Cricetulus obscurus ( Milne-Edwards 1867) ; Cricetulus pseudogriseus Iskhakova 1974 ; Cricetulus pseudogriseus Orlov and Iskhakova 1975 ; Cricetulus tuvinicus Iskhakova 1974 ; Cricetulus xinganensis Wang 1980 .

Distribution: Steppes of S Siberia from Irtysh River to Ussuri region, south through Transbaikalia to Mongolia ( Gromov and Erbajeva, 1995), NE China ( Zhang et al., 1997), and Korean Peninsula ( Won and Smith, 1999).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Status of griseus remains unsettled: originally described as a species ( Milne-Edwards, 1867), later submerged as a subspecies of C. barabensis (G. M. Allen, 1940; Corbet, 1978 c; Ellerman, 1941; Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951), then reelevated as distinct ( Corbet and Hill, 1991; Malygin et al., 1992; Orlov and Iskhakova, 1975; Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987; Wang, 2003). Orlov and Iskhakova (1975) had specifically separated griseus (2n = 22, FN = 38) from C. barabensis (2n = 20, FN = 38) and described the closely related C. pseudogriseus (2n = 24, FN = 38) based only on chromosomal traits. Kral et al. (1984) had difficulty in karyotypically characterizing the three because of the extensive homology among chromosomal arms and questioned their distinctiveness. Corbet (1978 c) also discussed the problem and included pseudogriseus and griseus in C. barabensis , as did Pavlinov et al. (1995 a) and Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1998). Malygin et al. (1992), however, reaffirmed the chromosomal and specific distinction of griseus and pseudogriseus from C. barabensis , and Gromov and Erbajeva (1995) arranged pseudogriseus as a species.