Birch mouse
| Birch mice | |
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| Sicista betulina | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dipodidae |
| Subfamily: | Sicistinae Allen, 1901 |
| Genus: | Sicista Gray, 1827 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Birch mice (genus Sicista) are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are native to Eurasian forests and steppes. All variants possess a long tail of 65 to 110 mm (2.6 to 4.3 in) of length and weigh about 6 to 14 g (0.21 to 0.49 oz). Head and body length of 50 to 90 mm (2.0 to 3.5 in) and hind foot length of 14 to 18 mm (0.55 to 0.71 in).[1] The animal's skin color is light brown or dark-brown to brownish yellow on the upper side and paler on the underside, but generally brownish.[1] Birch mice have a vast geographic distribution in that they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semiarid areas to subalpine meadows.[2]
Species[]
Thirteen species are listed in Mammal Species of the World (2005):[3]
- Armenian birch mouse, Sicista armenica
- Northern birch mouse, Sicista betulina
- Caucasian birch mouse, Sicista caucasica
- Long-tailed birch mouse, Sicista caudata
- Chinese birch mouse, Sicista concolor
- Kazbeg birch mouse, Sicista kazbegica
- Kluchor birch mouse, Sicista kluchorica
- Altai birch mouse, Sicista napaea
- Gray birch mouse, Sicista pseudonapaea
- Severtzov's birch mouse, Sicista severtzovi
- Strand's birch mouse, Sicista strandi
- Southern birch mouse, Sicista subtilis
- Tien Shan birch mouse, Sicista tianshanica
Phylogeny[]
All species of Sicista cluster into five major lineages: S. betulina, S. caucasica, S. caudata, S. tianschanica, and S. concolor.[4]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ronald M. Nowak (1999). Walker's mammals of the world. JHU Press. pp. 1329–. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ Cserkész, T., Fülöp, A., Almerekova, S. et al. J Mammal Evol (2019) 26: 147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-017-9409-6
- ^ Holden, M.E.; Musser, G.G. (2005). "Subfamily Sicistinae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 886–890. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Lebedev, Vladimir; Rusin, Mikhail; Zemlemerova, Elena; Matrosova, Vera; Bannikova, Anna; Kovalskaya, Yulia; Tesakov, Alexey (August 2019). "Phylogeny and evolutionary history of birch mice Sicista Griffith, 1827 (Sminthidae, Rodentia): Implications from a multigene study". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 57 (3): 695–709. doi:10.1111/jzs.12279.
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- Sicista
- Taxa named by John Edward Gray
- Rodent stubs