Biology:Birch mouse

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Short description: Genus of rodents

Birch mice
Sicista betulina 03.JPG
Sicista betulina
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Dipodoidea
Family: Sminthidae
Allen, 1901
Genus: Sicista
Gray, 1827
Species

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]

Phylogeny

All species of Sicista cluster into five major lineages: S. betulina, S. caucasica, S. caudata, S. tianschanica, and S. concolor.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Ronald M. Nowak (1999). Walker's mammals of the world. JHU Press. pp. 1329–. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=7W-DGRILSBoC&pg=PA1329. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  2. Cserkész, T., Fülöp, A., Almerekova, S. et al. J Mammal Evol (2019) 26: 147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-017-9409-6
  3. Holden, M.E.; Musser, G.G. (2005). "Subfamily Sicistinae". in Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. 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. http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=12900062. 
  4. 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. 

Wikidata ☰ Q865589 entry