List of calomyscids

Calomyscidae is a family of small rodents found in Syria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan that contains a single genus, Calomyscus. A member of this family is called a mouse-like hamster, brush-tailed mouse, or calomyscid. Most members of this family are commonly referred to as belonging to the species Calomyscus bailwardi, the first mouse-like hamster to be described. There are no population estimates for any of the known mouse-like hamsters, and most are considered as least-concern species, with two noted as being data deficient by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).^[1]

A mouse-like hamster (Calomyscus sp.)

There are 8 extant calomyscid species contained within a single genus, Calomyscus.^[2][1] Two extinct Calomyscidae species are known: C. delicatus Aguilar et al. 1984 and C. minor de Bruijn et al. 1970.^[3] New extant species that are not recognized by the IUCN have been discovered in the 2020s,^[4] including Behzad's brush-tailed mouse (C. behzadi)^[5] and the Kerman brush-tailed mouse (C. kermanensis).^[6]

Conventions

IUCN Red List categories

Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (0 species)
EN	Endangered (0 species)
VU	Vulnerable (0 species)
NT	Near threatened (0 species)
LC	Least concern (6 species)
Other categories
DD	Data deficient (2 species)
NE	Not evaluated (0 species)

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the calomyscid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "†".

Classification

The family Calomyscidae consists of eight extant species in one genus. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Only one of these species, Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse, has more than one subspecies. The cladogram below is based on that produced by Rezazadeh and colleagues in 2024, and excludes Calomyscus tsolovi due to deficient data.^[4]

Family Calomyscidae

• Genus Calomyscus: eight species

Calomyscidae Calomyscus bailwardi Calomyscus baluchi Calomyscus hotsoni Calomyscus mystax Calomyscus grandis Calomyscus urartensis Calomyscus elburzensis

Calomyscids

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by Mammal Species of the World (2005).^[2]

Main article: Mouse-like hamster

Genus Calomyscus – Thomas, 1905 – 8 species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster	C. bailwardi Thomas, 1905	Iran	Size: Habitat: Shrubland and rocky areas Diet:	LC  Unknown [7]
Baluchi mouse-like hamster	C. baluchi Thomas, 1920	Afghanistan and Pakistan	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas Diet:	LC  Unknown [8]
Goodwin's brush-tailed mouse	C. elburzensis Goodwin, 1938 One subspecies C. e. zykovi	Northeastern Iran, southwestern Turkmenistan, northwest Afghanistan	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas Diet:	LC  Unknown [9]
Noble mouse-like hamster	C. grandis Schlitter & Setzer, 1973	Alborz, Iran	Size: Habitat: Forest Diet:	LC  Unknown [10]
Hotson's mouse-like hamster	C. hotsoni Thomas, 1920	Southeastern Iran, southwestern Pakistan	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas Diet:	DD  Unknown [11]
Great Balkhan mouse-like hamster	C. mystax Kashkarov, 1925	South Turkmenistan, northern Iran, Transcaucasia, northwestern Afghanistan	Size: Habitat: Grassland Diet:	LC  Unknown [12]
Tsolov's mouse-like hamster	C. tsolovi Peshev, 1991	Southwest Syria	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, rocky areas Diet:	DD  Unknown [13]
Urar mouse-like hamster	C. urartensis Vorontsov, Kartavtseva & Potapova, 1979	Southern Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran	Size: Habitat: Shrubland, grassland and rocky areas Diet:	LC  Unknown [14]