biology

List of cricetines

List of cricetines is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of cricetines rather than just read about it. In short: Cricetinae is a subfamily of mammals in the rodent family Cricetidae, which in turn is part of the Myomorpha suborder in the order Rodentia. Members of this subfamily are called cricetines or hamsters.

Key takeaways

List of cricetines belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of cricetines to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of cricetines from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Cricetinae is a subfamily of mammals in the rodent family Cricetidae, which in turn is part of the Myomorpha suborder in the order Rodentia. Members of this subfamily are called cricetines or hamsters. They are found in Europe and Asia, primarily in shrublands, grasslands, and deserts, though some species can be found in forests and wetlands. They range in size from the Roborovski dwarf hamster, at 7 cm (3 in) plus a 0.5 cm (0.2 in) tail, to the European hamster, at 32 cm (13 in) plus a 7 cm (3 in) tail. Cricetines generally eat shoots and seeds, though some also eat a variety of other vegetation, insects, and small vertebrates. No cricetines have population estimates, but the golden hamster is categorized as endangered, while the European hamster is categorized as critically endangered. Several hamster species, particularly the golden hamster, Chinese striped hamster, and dwarf hamsters, have been domesticated as pets. The eighteen extant species of Cricetinae are divided into seven genera, ranging in size from one to six species. Several extinct prehistoric cricetine species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries, the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the cricetine's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification Cricetinae is a subfamily of the rodent family Cricetidae consisting of eighteen extant species in seven genera. These genera range in size from one to six species. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species. Subfamily Cricetinae

Genus Allocricetulus (Mongolian hamsters): two species Genus Cansumys (Gansu hamster): one species Genus Cricetulus (ratlike hamsters): six species Genus Cricetus (European hamster): one species Genus Mesocricetus (golden hamsters): four species Genus Phodopus (dwarf hamsters): three species Genus Tscherskia (Greater long-tailed hamster): one species

Cricetines The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.

References

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of cricetines

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of cricetines claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of cricetines before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of cricetines ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of cricetines

In research: List of cricetines appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of cricetines in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of cricetines is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hamsters, Lists of animal species, Lists of rodents, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of cricetines outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of cricetines in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of cricetines means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of cricetines out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of cricetines in simple terms?

Why does List of cricetines matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of cricetines?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of cricetines.