Living Earth Rodentry

I don't often post about another passion of mine, plants. Today I thought I'd post something that combines two. This is Ziziphus nummularia, commonly known as wild jujube, various speices occur in desert areas of the Middle East, Arabia and east into India. Often growing in places where few other plants wouldn't survive, managing to find water in the most unlikely places. The fruits which are the size of an olive and have the texture and flavour of an apple. They are eaten by a wide range of rodent species, including Gerbils, Jirds and Spiny Mice.

Autumn is definitely my favorite season 🍁 What’s your favorite season of the year?

An Egyptian spiny mouse perhaps, with its plump, round body?

Wooden cosmetic spoon in shape of a mouse. Egyptian used spoons to mix their eye make up on. Date: Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, 1525 - 1295 BC. Now on display at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC.

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Hamsters of the World!

One thing of note with this poster. Most often in popular hamster caresheets, the familiar Chinese hamster, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_hamster, is listed with the scientific name Cricetulus griseus, and more rarely, Cricetulus barabensis griseus.

A close relative, the Chinese striped hamster was first described in 1773 as Cricetulus barabensis by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas. There is quite some confusion over the Latin name of the Chinese striped hamster and the Chinese hamster. Some people consider the Chinese hamster (Cricetulus griseus) and the Chinese striped hamster (Cricetulus barabensis) different species,[2] whereas others classify them as identical, the Chinese striped hamster as a subspecies of the Chinese hamster (in which case the Latin name of the Chinese striped hamster would be Cricetulus griseus barabensis)[3] or the other way round (in which case the Latin name of the Chinese hamster would be Cricetulus barabensis griseus).
In addition, six subspecies of the Chinese striped hamster are recognised - more info about them can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_striped_hamster
Both (sub)species are members of a subgroup of hamsters called "ratlike hamsters" due to their relatively long tails and overall "mousey" look as compared to other hamsters.