Long-tailed Lesser Hamster

About this species

Size

Head and body 8.0–13.5cm; tail 3.5–4.8cm

Weight

15–50g

Range

Northern and central China, Mongolia, southern Siberia and eastern Kazakhstan

The long-tailed lesser hamster is small, about as large as the Daurian dwarf hamster or slightly larger. Head-and-body length is usually 80–135 millimetres, with a tail of 35–48 millimetres, hind feet of 15–21 millimetres, ears of 15–20 millimetres and a weight of 15–50 grams. The tail is slender and long, visibly longer than the hind feet, and usually makes up at least a third of the head-and-body length, though this decreases towards the south. The fur is sandy-yellow or dark brownish-grey above and greyish-white below. (German Wikipedia, general species account)

Armand David found it in what is now Inner Mongolia, and Alphonse Milne-Edwards described it in 1867. In several subspecies it is spread across the north and centre of China, Mongolia, southern Siberia and eastern Kazakhstan. (German Wikipedia, general species account)

Description: Wildlife of Mongolia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)