Birch mouse

Birch mice
	Sicista betulina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Dipodidae
Subfamily:	Sicistinae; Allen, 1901
Genus:	Sicista; Gray, 1827
Species
	See text

Birch mice (genus Sicista) are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with a long tufted tail 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 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

There are 13 species listed in Mammal Species of the World (2005).[3]

Armenian birch mouse, Sicista armenica
Northern birch mouse, Sicista betulina
Caucasian birch mouse, Sicista caucasica
Long-tailed birch mouse, Sicista caudata
Chinese birch mouse, Sicista concolor
Kazbeg birch mouse, Sicista kazbegica
Kluchor birch mouse, Sicista kluchorica
Altai birch mouse, Sicista napaea
Gray birch mouse, Sicista pseudonapaea
Severtzov's birch mouse, Sicista severtzovi
Strand's birch mouse, Sicista strandi
Southern birch mouse, Sicista subtilis
Tien Shan birch mouse, Sicista tianshanica

Phylogeny

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

References

Ronald M. Nowak (1999). Walker's mammals of the world. JHU Press. pp. 1329–. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
Cserkész, T., Fülöp, A., Almerekova, S. et al. J Mammal Evol (2019) 26: 147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-017-9409-6
Holden, M.E.; Musser, G.G. (2005). "Subfamily Sicistinae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). 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.
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.

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[Nowak1999-1] Ronald M. Nowak (1999). Walker's mammals of the world. JHU Press. pp. 1329–. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8. 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

[MSW3-3] Holden, M.E.; Musser, G.G. (2005). "Subfamily Sicistinae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). 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.

[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.