14.

Gansu Hamster

Cansumys canus

French: Hamster du Gansu / German: Gansu-Zwerghamster / Spanish: Hamster de Gansu

Taxonomy. Cansumys canus G. M. Allen, 1928, Joné [= Choni], S Gansu, China.

In the past, most Chinese authors considered C. canus a synonym of 1scherskia triton (probably because these two species were frequently misidentified morphologically and karyologically). Cansumys and Tscherskia are quite different. Some authors consider Tscherskia triton ningshaanensis named by y Song Song Shiying Shiying in in 1985 a subspecies subspecies o of C. canus, but here is treated as a synonym of 1. t. incana. Monotypic.

Distribution. C China (S Gansu, S Shaanxi, and S Henan).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 129-140 mm, tail 95-109 mm, ear 17-24 mm, hindfoot 18-20 mm; weight 44-57 g. The Gansu Hamster is hoary gray on head and upperparts and slaty gray on underparts; throat, sides of muzzle, outer bases of ears, and legs are pure white. Tail is covered with long dense hairs, white at distal ends. Condylobasal skull lengths are 29-7-33-5 mm, interorbital widths are 3-2-3-8 mm, and molar tooth row lengths are 6-4-6-9 mm. Molars are medium-crowned; upper molar rows diverge in backward direction. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 24 and FN = 48.

Habitat. Mountain forests. Some morphological features of the Gansu Hamster suggest that it is arboreal.

Food and Feeding. Based on molar morphology, the Gansu Hamster probably eats seeds and green plant parts; it is more folivorous than other hamsters.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Allen (1940), Gu Yuan et al. (2005), Song Shiying (1985), Yang Lili et al. (2003), Zhang Yongzu et al. (1997).