Tibetan Dwarf Hamster Urocricetus kamensis (Lynx Nature Books 2023), also known as Kam Dwarf Hamster Cricetulus kamensis (Smith 2013), Ela Pass (35.496900, 99.510020), Qinghai, China, elev. 4499 m (14,756 ft.), July. Tibetan Dwarf Hamster inhabits ‘high mountain grasslands, shrubby marshes, and open steppe’ (Smith 2013) at an elevation range of 3300–4500 m (10,830–14,760 ft.). It is endemic to western China, being recorded from Xinjiang to Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and Sichuan. This specimen shows greyish-brown dorsal pelage with black spot at the somewhat choppy border between its dorsal pelage and greyish-white ventral pelage. (Craig Brelsford)Tibetan Dwarf Hamster ‘is active day and night,’ writes Smith (2013). Ela Pass (35.496900, 99.510020), Qinghai, elev. 4499 m (14,756 ft.), July. (Craig Brelsford)Tibetan Dwarf Hamster peeps out from its burrow, which may be 50 cm or a foot and a half deep (Smith 2013). Ela Pass (35.496900, 99.510020), Qinghai, July. (Craig Brelsford)
WORKS CITED
Lynx Nature Books (2023). All the Mammals of the World. Lynx Nature Books, Barcelona, Spain.
Smith, Andrew T. (2013). Subfamily Cricetinae in Smith, Andrew T. & Yan Xie, eds. Mammals of China. Princeton University Press.
