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Did you know? Species Names

Maz

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We all chat about Dwarf hamsters, Syrians and Robos, but here is a piece with info about their genus names – for anyone who didn’t know 😊



Golden Hamsters, or Syrian Hamsters, are officially called Mesocricetus Auretus. They are a rodent belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. Notably they are not just golden any more either! Different colours have evolved, mutated or been bred.

In Germany they still tend to be referred to as Golden Hamsters, in the UK, as Syrian Hamsters and in the US they can also be known as Black bear hamsters, panda hamsters and similar – but these are all Syrian Hamsters and the same species – just names for different colourways.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hamster



Russian Dwarf Hamsters also have genus names.

Of the pedigree species there are:

1. Winter White Russian Dwarf Hamsters with the genus name of Phodopus sungorus, also known as Djungarian hamster, Siberian hamster or Siberian dwarf hamster. “In the wild, they originate from the wheat fields of Kazakhstan, the meadows of Mongolia and Siberia, and the birch stands of Manchuria.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_white_dwarf_hamster According to the Wikipedia article, they have no fully accepted common name but are often referred to as Winter White dwarf hamster or Russian Dwarf Hamster. Or you may see Winter White Russian dwarf hamster!


2. Campbells Dwarf Hamsters have the genus name Phodopus Campbelli. “It was given its common name by Oldfield Thomas in honor of Charles William Campbell, who collected the first specimen in Mongolia on July 1, 1902.” Commonly named Campbells Dwarf Hamster. If you look at the Wikipedia article, there is often confusion between the Campbells and Winter White hamsters, which can look similar and also confusion with people naming them by the region they come from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_dwarf_hamster


3. Hybrid Russian Dwarf Hamsters As the Wikipedia article explains “Of the five species of hamsters kept commonly as pets, only Campbell's dwarf hamster and the winter white dwarf hamster are able to interbreed and produce live hybrid offspring.” As such Hybrid dwarf hamsters don’t have a genus as they have been bred in captivity. They are a hybrid offspring of two genus. They wouldn’t naturally breed in the wild. Hybrids are mentioned in both the Winter White and Campbells Wikipedia links. Commonly referred to as Dwarf Hamsters or Russian Dwarf Hamsters, as the majority of dwarf hamsters sold are hybrids, unless from a pedigree breeder.


4, The Roborovski Hamster – genus name Phodopus Roborovski. Also known as the desert hamster or Robo Hamster. According to Wikipedia it is not actually a dwarf hamster, even though it is the genus phodopus, as it can’t interbreed with other dwarf species. But it’s often referred to as a dwarf hamster or Roborovski Dwarf Hamster, due to its size. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roborovski_dwarf_hamster


5. The Chinese Hamster – genus name Cricetulus Griseus or Cricetulus barabensis griseus. This is also technically not a dwarf hamster although is sometimes referred to being one due to its size. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_hamster


There are actually many more species of hamster – 24 according to the RSPCA (see link in resources section). But of those only the five above are commonly kept as pets.
 
I think that bit about the robo not being a dwarf hamster is a more recent addition to Wikipedia as it wasn’t always there.
The term dwarf hamster wasn’t used to describe the species that could interbreed.
It was used to describe the genus Phodopus which as you can see from the species names includes the Roborovski, also known as the Roborovski dwarf hamster.
 
It can be helpful if you're ever looking for research articles about hamsters to search for "Golden hamster" instead of "Syrian" and "Djungarian" instead of "Winter White", as both those terms are more commonly used in academia.

When it comes to Chinese hamsters being, or not being, dwarfs, you get all shades of opinion, ranging from:
- they're not dwarfs
- they are dwarfs
- they're the only true dwarfs
- there are no true dwarf hamsters

And since the last point has some truth in it (dwarf hamsters are so called only because they're small, not because they genetically have any kind of dwarfism), it just comes down to opinion really.
 
Hamster classification has been a bit muddled over time, Winter whites were originally classed as a mouse & Chinese as rat like when you would think mouse like would be a bit more appropriate.

I think in the pet trade Syrians were most commonly kept & then Russians & Robos so the term dwarf was originally used to describe that genus & differentiate from the larger Syrian.

Most sources will say Chinese aren’t a dwarf hamster as they aren’t of the genus Phodopus but are usually grouped with the dwarfs as they are small.

There are other dwarf hamsters too that aren’t kept as pets so it’s not just that genus.

It is a bit of a misnomer anyway as Daisy said none of them are dwarf in the true sense of the word but it probably helps to have some understanding of how hamster species are generally grouped & why.
 
There’s a bit more on the genus Phodopus here on Wikipedia, slightly contradicts what they say about Robos in the other section but gives a more general idea of how the genus is grouped together.
 
That is a really interesting link, thanks. It doesn't help when Scientists can't agree does it?! 🤣 Although there seems to be general consensus that there are three phodopus species - two are similar and Roborovski's are a bit different, but all get called Dwarf hamsters.
 
Can anyone identify this hamster? Sorry the pic isn't good - it's taken from a shelter website. My husband and I have only ever owned teddy bear hamsters and robos. I believe we had russian dwarfs as well but the different types throw me off. I want to get better at identifying them.
 

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That looks like a dwarf hamster to me. A very cute one. 😍

They will be a hybrid dwarf.😊
 
That looks like a dwarf hamster to me. A very cute one. 😍

They will be a hybrid dwarf.😊
Thanks! I knew it was a dwarf but unsure of the type. I was stuck between campbells or winter white - it's probably a mix like you said. We're going to put in the adoption paperwork today - fingers crossed. If we adopt her I'll post more pics!
 
Good luck with the adoption, hope you get your ham soon.

It’s very unlikely you would find either a Campbell’s or WW in a shelter, most hamsters in shelters come from pet shops or hobby breeders & will be hybrids.
 
She’s lovely! I just posted on your other thread :)
 
Good luck with the adoption, hope you get your ham soon.

It’s very unlikely you would find either a Campbell’s or WW in a shelter, most hamsters in shelters come from pet shops or hobby breeders & will be hybrids.
That's good to know. I am more versed in cats and dogs when it comes to adopting rather than 'shopping' for them. I figured it would be similar for hamsters so we've never bought any animal from a pet store. All our pets were either orphaned or given up to shelter in which we adopted them. I am perfectly content with mixed breeds! <3
 
It’s great you’re giving her a home :-). Do you have a cage already?
 
It’s great you’re giving her a home :). Do you have a cage already?
Yep, we've owned hamsters in the past so we have different caging and have tried different types. We ended up opting for a large horizontal tank due to there being lots of drafts in our house so it's harder to keep the temperature right with wire caging especially in the winter. Though, we are always looking for ideas and things to give more enrichment or room.
 
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