Greater Long-tailed Hamster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iGreater Long-tailed Hamster Fossil range: Late Pliocene to Recent
Conservation status
Least concern (LR/lc)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Superfamily: Muroidea Family: Cricetidae Subfamily: Cricetinae Genus: Tscherskia Ognev, 1914 Species: T. triton
Binomial name
Tscherskia triton (De Winton, 1899)

The Greater Long-tailed Hamster (Tscherskia triton) is a major crop-eating rodent that resides in Northern China. Some authorities maintain that the 15th gua of the Yi Jing (I Ching) refers repeatedly to this animal. Since the animal has been a major pest since ancient times and also has a habit of standing up on its rear legs and screaming loudly, both habits that would make it a candidate animal as an 'omen beast', there may be some truth to this assertion.

[edit] References

• Baillie (1996). Tscherskia triton. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.