Striped Dwarf Hamster – Cricetulus barabensis

Cricetulus barabensisPallas, 1773

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

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, 1978c; 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 (1978c) also discussed the problem and included pseudogriseus and griseus in C. barabensis, as did Pavlinov et al. (1995a</... [truncated]

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.