24 June 2019

New replenishment of Darwin museum collection – The common hamster or the European hamster

(Cricetus cricetus Linnaeus, 1758)

A new member of taxidermy mounts collection of Darwin museum - the common hamster, also known as the Eurasian hamster or the European hamster. He was named after a renowned Russian poet and writer - Mikhail Lermontov, as he was found on a street named after the poet in Simpheropol, Crimea. The hamster had a long and happy life and died of old age.

The common hamster (Cricetus cricetus Linnaeus, 1758) - is the only species of the genus Cricetus. It is much larger than the Syrian or dwarf hamsters, which are commonly kept as pets. Fully grown male hamsters can grow up to 35 cm (14 in) long and usually weigh around 700 g. The European hamster has brown dorsal fur with white patches. The chest and belly are black. The fur is quite thick and soft.

It is native to prairies and forest steppes, as well as grasslands of Eurasia extending from Belgium to the Altai mountains and Yenisey River in Russia. The common hamster is a nocturnal or crepuscular species, spending the day in a complex burrow system.

It eats seeds, legumes, root vegetables, grasses and insects, transporting its food in its elastic cheek pouches to the food storage chambers and sometimes covering the distances of more than 1 km to bring food “home”. The chambers may be quite large and may contain a total of 50 Kg of food.

In winter the common hamster feeds from its storage chambers when it occasionally wakes up, and in spring – until it is able to find some fresh food.










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