Mesocricetus

Mesocricetus is a genus of Old World hamsters, including the Syrian or golden hamster, the first hamster to be introduced as a domestic pet, and still the most popular species of hamster for that purpose.

Mesocricetus Temporal range: Early Pliocene - Recent
Mesocricetus auratus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Cricetinae
Genus:	Mesocricetus Nehring, 1894
Type species
Cricetus nigricans[1] Brandt, 1832 (= Cricetus raddei Nehring, 1894)
Species
Mesocricetus auratus Mesocricetus brandti Mesocricetus newtoni Mesocricetus raddei

Recent research has shown that, unlike almost all other land mammals studied, all species of this genus lack the capacity for color vision.^[2]

Species

• Mesocricetus auratus Golden hamster or Syrian hamster
• Mesocricetus brandti Turkish hamster or Brandt's hamster
• Mesocricetus newtoni Romanian hamster or Dobrudja hamster
• Mesocricetus raddei Ciscaucasian hamster
• †Mesocricetus rathgeberi Armathia hamster (extinct, known from subfossil bones from Armathia Island, Greece)^[3]