602 



HODENTIA 



Three of these occur west of Russia. Their status is at present 

 by no means clearly understood. 



KEY TO THE EUROPEAN RACES OF CBICETUS CRICETTJS. 



Skull large, the oondylobasal length about 50 mm. 



(Central Germany eastward into Hungary) C. c. cricetus, p. 602. 



Skull moderate, the oondylobasal length about 45 mm. 



Occipital portion of brain-case high, its truncation 



moderately oblique as in typical race (Belgium 



and western Germany) C. c. ccmexcens, p. 603. 



Occipital portion of brain-case low, its truncation 



unusually oblique (Roumania) C. c. nehringi, p. 605. 



Ceicetus ceicetus ceicetds Linnseus. 



1758. [Mus] cricetus Linnseus, Syst. Nat., I, 10th ed., p. 60, Germany. 

 1792. M[us] Cricetus germanicus Kerr, Anim. King., p. 243 (Cricetus 



germanicus in Syst. Catal., inserted between pp. 32 and 33) 



Germany. 

 1799. Hamster nigricans Lacepede, Tabl. des division, ordres et genres des 



Mamm., p. 10 (Renaming of Mus cricetus). 

 1801. Milts'] c[ricetus] fulvus Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. Deutsch- 



lands, i, 2nd ed., p. 1010 (Thiiringen, Germany). 

 1803. Cricetus vulgaris Geoffroy, Catal. Mammif. du Mus. Nat. d'Hist. 



Nat., p. 196, northern and eastern Europe (Renaming of 



Mus cricetus). 

 1811. Cricetus frumentarius Pallas, Zoogr. Rosso.-Asiat., p. 161 (Renaming 



of Mus cricetus). 

 1857. Cricetus frumentarius Blasius, Saugethiere Deutschlands, p. 306. 

 1867. [Cricetus vulgaris] varius Fitzinger, Sitzungsber. kais. Akad. 



Wissensch. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. Classe, lvi, pt. i, p. 98 



(Europe). 

 1867. [Cricetus vulgarus] albus Pitzinger, Sitzungsber. kais. Akad. 



Wissensch. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. Classe, lvi, pt. I, p. 98 



(Germany). 

 1867. [Cricetus vulgaris] niger Pitzinger, Sitzungsber. kais. Akad. 



Wissensch. Wien, Math.-Naturwiss. Classe, lvi, pt. i, p. 98 



(Austria, Hungary, Germany). 

 1873. Seliomys jeudii Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., xn, p. 417, 



November, 1873 (locality unknown). 

 1894. Cricetus cricetus Dahl, Die Heimat, iv, p. 130, June, 1894. 

 1906. Cr[icetus] vulgaris niger Simroth, Biol. Centralblatt, xxvi, p. 337, 



June 1, 1906. Valley of the Saale, Germany. 

 1910. Cricetus cricetus and C. cricetus niger Trouessart, Paune Mamm. 



d'Europe, p. 159. 



Type locality. — Germany. 



Geographical distribution. — Locally distributed through central 

 Germany. Exact limits of distribution not known, and apparently 

 undergoing rapid change.* 



Diagnosis. — Skull large and heavy, the condylobasal length 



* For detailed account of local distribution in Germany see Nehring, 

 Wiegmann's Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte, 1904, pp. 15-32, pi. in, and 

 Sitz.-Ber. Gesellsch. Naturforsch. Preunde, Berlin, 1899, pp. 3-4. 



