Urocricetus

{{automatic taxobox

| image =

| fossil_range = Late Miocene to Recent

| taxon = Urocricetus

| authority = Satunin, 1903{{cite journal |last1=Satunin |first1=K. A. |title=Neue Nagetiere aus Centralasien |journal=Ежегодникь Зоологическаго Музея |date=April 1903 |volume=7 |pages=573–574 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8666889#page/665/mode/1up |access-date=9 December 2024}}

| type_species = Urocricetus kamensis

| type_species_authority = Satunin, 1903{{cite journal |last1=Lebedev |first1=V. S. |last2=Bannikova |first2=A. A. |last3=Neumann |first3=K. |last4=Ushakova |first4=M. V. |last5=Ivanova |first5=N. V. |last6=Surov |first6=A. V. |title=Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomy of dwarf hamsters Cricetulus Milne-Edwards, 1867 (Cricetidae, Rodentia): description of a new genus and reinstatement of another |journal=Zootaxa |date=26 February 2018 |volume=4387 |issue=2 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4387.2.5 |pmid=29689907 |url=https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4387.2.5 |access-date=9 December 2024}}

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =Urocricetus alticola (Thomas, 1917)

Urocricetus kamensis Satunin, 1903

}}

Urocricetus is a genus of hamsters found on the Tibetan Plateau in southern Asia. These species have relatively long tails for a hamster, with brownish upperparts and a pure white underside.

Taxonomy

The genus Urocricetus was originally described by the Russian zoologist Konstantin Satunin as a subgenus of Cricetus. Urocricetus would be sometimes recognized as a subgenus of Cricetulus until 2018, when a phylogenetic study revealed this genus to be valid. This genus is a sister taxa to the desert hamster genus Phodopus.

As of 2024, two closely related species are recognized in this genus:

Urocricetus alticola - Ladakh dwarf hamster, native to the western Nepal, northern India, and the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet
Urocricetus kamensis - Kam dwarf hamster, native to the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai and the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang

The species Cricetulus lama and Cricetulus tibetanus are recognized as valid by the IUCN{{cite iucn |author=Smith, A.T. |author2=Johnston, C.H. |year=2017 |title=Cricetulus tibetanus |volume=2017 |page=e.T136527A22390916 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T136527A22390916.en |access-date=9 December 2024}}{{cite iucn |author=Smith, A.T. |author2=Johnston, C.H. |year=2017 |title=Cricetulus lama |volume=2017 |page=e.T136746A22391088 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T136746A22391088.en |access-date=9 December 2024}} but considered a synonym of Urocricetus kamensis by the American Society of Mammalogists.{{cite mdd|id=1002218|title=Urocricetus kamensis Satunin, 1903|access-date=9 December 2024}} Both of these possibly valid species live on the Tibetan Plateau, while the other valid Cricetulus species occur further north and northeast of the Tibetan Plateau.{{cite iucn |author=Batsaikhan, N. |author2=Smith, A.T. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=Cricetulus sokolovi |volume=2016 |page=e.T5527A115073247 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T5527A22391689.en |access-date=9 December 2024}}{{cite iucn |author=Batsaikhan, A. |author2=Tinnin, D. |author3=Lhagvasuren, B. |author4=Sukhchuluun, G. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=Cricetulus longicaudatus |volume=2016 |page=e.T5526A115073116 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T5526A22391246.en |access-date=9 December 2024}}{{cite iucn |author=Batsaikhan, N. |author2=Tinnin, D. |author3=Shar, S. |author4=Avirmed, D. |author5=Usukhjargal, D. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=Cricetulus barabensis |volume=2016 |page=e.T5524A115072992 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T5524A22391002.en |access-date=9 December 2024}} More research is needed for this genus at the species level.

References

Category:Hamsters

Category:Rodent genera

Category:Taxa named by Konstantin Satunin

Category:Taxa described in 1903

Category:Rodents of South Asia