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Most hamsters in American and English pet stores are Syrian (aka Golden) hamsters. Even the "Teddy Bear" and the so-called "Black Bear" hamsters are all recently bred varieties of Syrian hamsters. All of them may well indeed be the descendants of a single mother.
Hamsters have been used in scientific research in the study of many diseases.
In 1839 British zoologist George Waterhouse reportedly found an elderly female hamster in Syria, naming it Cricetus auratus, the Golden Hamster. The hamster's fur was on display at the British Museum. The Syrian hamster was then ignored by European science for the next century. Around 1930, zoologist and Professor at the University of Jerusalem Aharoni found a mother and litter of hamsters in the Syrian desert. By the time he got back to his lab, most had died or escaped. The remaining hamsters were given to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where they were successfully bred. They were a bit bigger than the ones Waterhouse found, so they were named Mesocricetus auratus, although they were probably the same species. Mesocricetus auratus is the current scientific name of Syrian hamsters.
Descendants of these hamsters were shipped to scientific labs around the world, for use as research animals. They arrived in the United Kingdom in 1931, and in 1938 reached the United States. Just about all Golden Hamsters are descended from the original litter found in Syria, except for a few that were brought into the United States by travellers who found them in the desert. A separate stock of hamsters was imported into the US in 1971, but it isn't known if any of today's North American pets are descended from them.
Today there are two other popular varieties of hamsters sold in pet stores: The Dwarf Campbells Russian and the Winter White Russian hamsters. Further, there are two other breeds (Chinese and the Roborovski hamster) that on occasion can be found.
Note that there are some rodents sometimes called "hamsters" that are not part of the hamster family. These rodents include
Hamster is also programming jargon for a small self contained piece of code, like a hamster running in its wheel.Discovery of the Syrian hamster
Types of hamsters (Partial list)
Genus mesocricetus
Some breeds of Syrians are known as teddy bear hamsters, standard hamsters, fancy hamsters, or black bear hamsters. All Syrian hamsters were originally from Syria. They may now be extinct in nature, but are popular as house pets all across the world. Adults grow from 5" to 7" in length, and in captivity will usually live from 2 to 3 years.
The Turkish hamsterGenus Phodopus
Genus Calomyscus
Sub-species of the mouse-like hamster include: C. bailwardi baluchi, C. bailwardi mystax, C. bailwardi urartensis
Genus Cricetus
(Also called the common hamster, black-bellied field hamster)Genus Cricetulus
Genus Mystromys
Animals that are not really hamsters
External links
Hamster is a computer jargon term referring to a cordless computer mouse that uses radio or infrared technology. The name derives from the fact that hamsters are similar to mice but lack tails.