Romanian hamster

Romanian Hamster
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Genus:	Mesocricetus
Species:	M. newtoni
Binomial name
Mesocricetus newtoni (Nehring, 1898)

The Romanian hamster or Dobrudja hamster (Mesocricetus newtoni) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Bulgaria and Romania.

Description

The Romanian Hamster has brown dorsal (back) fur and a white underside. The top of the head has a dark stripe that extends to the neck. The dark cheek stripes extend back to the shoulder. Its head-body length is up to 180 mm and its weight ranges from 80 to 115 g. Its dental formula is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3.^[2]

Behavior

The Romanian hamster is a nocturnal or crepuscular species. It lives solitarily in a complex burrow system. It eats seeds, legumes, rooted vegetables, and grasses, but also insects. It transports its food with its elastic cheek pouches to the food chambers. They reach sexual maturity when 56–70 days old and breed through early April to August. The common hamster has a gestation of 15 days, gives birth to a litter of 1–12 and weans after three weeks of birth. It communicates by squeaking or with ultra-sound. Both sexes flank mark by rubbing their glands against objects.^[2]

References

1. ^ Coroiu, I. & Vohralík, V. (2008). Mesocricetus newtoni. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 14 Jule 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of near threatened.
2. ^ ^{a b} MacDonald, David; Priscilla Barret (1993). Mammals of Britain & Europe. 1. London: HarperCollins. pp. 238–239. ISBN 0002197790. 

• Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.