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Domestication of the Syrian hamster
The domestication of the Syrian hamster began in the late 1900s when naturalists cataloged the Syrian hamster, also known as Mesocricetus auratus or the golden hamster. In 1930 medical researchers captured Syrian hamster breeding stock for animal testing. Further domestication led this animal to become a popular pet.
The Syrian hamster's natural habitat is in a small region of Northwest Syria near the city of Aleppo. It was first described by science in the 1797 second edition of The Natural History of Aleppo, a book written and edited by two Scottish physicians living in Syria. The Syrian hamster was first recognized as a distinct species in 1839. In 1930 Saul Adler, a scientist seeking animal subjects for medical research, had the first Syrian hamsters captured to become laboratory animals. Scientists bred those hamsters and during the 1930s sent their descendants to various other laboratories around the world. By the late 1940s in the United States, a commercial hamster industry had begun to provide hamsters for laboratory use and at the same time to popularize hamsters as pets. In later years, further expeditions back to Syria captured other hamsters to increase genetic diversity among the populations of hamsters shared among breeders.
Wild Syrian hamsters become tame in a matter of days after being captured and handled by humans. Wild hamsters are quick to adapt to captivity and thrive in a laboratory setting.
The earliest known publication describing the Syrian hamster was in Patrick Russell's 1797 revision and second edition of his half-brother Alexander Russell's 1756 The Natural History of Aleppo. Alexander Russell was a Scottish physician who had been living in Syria from 1740 till 1750 or 55, and while in Aleppo, he documented the natural history of the region. Patrick Russell moved to Aleppo in 1750 and stayed there till 1781, and like his brother documented natural history. It is uncertain which brother wrote the description of the hamster for the book. Perhaps Patrick took it from Alexander's unpublished notes or perhaps it was Patrick's own addition to the book in the second edition.
The Hamster is less common than the field mouse. I once found upon dissecting one of them, the pouch on each side stuffed with young french beans, arranged lengthways so exactly, and close to each other, that it appeared strange by what mechanism it had been effected; for the membrane which forms the pouch, though muscular, is thin, and the most expert fingers could not have packed the beans in a more regular order. When they were laid loosely on the table, they formed a heap 3 times the bulk of the animal's body.
In the Russell's book, the Syrian hamster is referenced as "Mus Cricetus Linn. S.N. p 82: Hamster, Buffon (H.N. XIII. p177)", which means that the Russells incorrectly cataloged the Syrian hamster to be the same species as the European hamster as described by the Comte de Buffon and Carl Linnaeus.
This species is less than the common Hamster (Cricetus vulgaris), and is remarkable for its deep golden yellow colouring. The fur is moderately long and very soft, and has a silk-like gloss; the deep golden yellow colouring extends over the upper parts and sides of the head and body, and also over the outer side of the limbs: on the back the hairs are brownish at the tip, hence in this part the fur assumes a deeper hue than on the sides of the body: the sides of the muzzle, throat, and upper parts of the body are white, but faintly tinted with yellow: on the back, and sides of the body, all the hairs are of a deep grey or lead colour at the base. The feet and tail are white. The ears are of moderate size, furnished externally with deep golden-coloured hairs, and internally with whitish hairs. The moustaches consist of black and white hairs intermixed.
In 1839 at a meeting of the London Zoological Society George Robert Waterhouse described the Syrian hamster as a new species. His identification of the animal happened after his 1835 appointment as a curator of the museum of the London Zoological Society, where his job was to process mammal specimens. The body in the museum became the type specimen for the new species. There is no record of who collected the specimen nor is there any record of who donated the body to that museum. In 1853 the British Museum purchased the collections of the London Zoological Society, so now, this original hamster is in the British Museum as specimen BM(NH) 1855.12.24.120. Some derivative works of the Waterhouse publication which also presented the existence of the hamster were Louis Fraser's 1849 Zoologia Typica, Christoph Gottfried Andreas Giebel's 1855 Säugetiere, and Henry Baker Tristram's 1884 Fauna and Flora of Palestine.
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Domestication of the Syrian hamster
The domestication of the Syrian hamster began in the late 1900s when naturalists cataloged the Syrian hamster, also known as Mesocricetus auratus or the golden hamster. In 1930 medical researchers captured Syrian hamster breeding stock for animal testing. Further domestication led this animal to become a popular pet.
The Syrian hamster's natural habitat is in a small region of Northwest Syria near the city of Aleppo. It was first described by science in the 1797 second edition of The Natural History of Aleppo, a book written and edited by two Scottish physicians living in Syria. The Syrian hamster was first recognized as a distinct species in 1839. In 1930 Saul Adler, a scientist seeking animal subjects for medical research, had the first Syrian hamsters captured to become laboratory animals. Scientists bred those hamsters and during the 1930s sent their descendants to various other laboratories around the world. By the late 1940s in the United States, a commercial hamster industry had begun to provide hamsters for laboratory use and at the same time to popularize hamsters as pets. In later years, further expeditions back to Syria captured other hamsters to increase genetic diversity among the populations of hamsters shared among breeders.
Wild Syrian hamsters become tame in a matter of days after being captured and handled by humans. Wild hamsters are quick to adapt to captivity and thrive in a laboratory setting.
The earliest known publication describing the Syrian hamster was in Patrick Russell's 1797 revision and second edition of his half-brother Alexander Russell's 1756 The Natural History of Aleppo. Alexander Russell was a Scottish physician who had been living in Syria from 1740 till 1750 or 55, and while in Aleppo, he documented the natural history of the region. Patrick Russell moved to Aleppo in 1750 and stayed there till 1781, and like his brother documented natural history. It is uncertain which brother wrote the description of the hamster for the book. Perhaps Patrick took it from Alexander's unpublished notes or perhaps it was Patrick's own addition to the book in the second edition.
The Hamster is less common than the field mouse. I once found upon dissecting one of them, the pouch on each side stuffed with young french beans, arranged lengthways so exactly, and close to each other, that it appeared strange by what mechanism it had been effected; for the membrane which forms the pouch, though muscular, is thin, and the most expert fingers could not have packed the beans in a more regular order. When they were laid loosely on the table, they formed a heap 3 times the bulk of the animal's body.
In the Russell's book, the Syrian hamster is referenced as "Mus Cricetus Linn. S.N. p 82: Hamster, Buffon (H.N. XIII. p177)", which means that the Russells incorrectly cataloged the Syrian hamster to be the same species as the European hamster as described by the Comte de Buffon and Carl Linnaeus.
This species is less than the common Hamster (Cricetus vulgaris), and is remarkable for its deep golden yellow colouring. The fur is moderately long and very soft, and has a silk-like gloss; the deep golden yellow colouring extends over the upper parts and sides of the head and body, and also over the outer side of the limbs: on the back the hairs are brownish at the tip, hence in this part the fur assumes a deeper hue than on the sides of the body: the sides of the muzzle, throat, and upper parts of the body are white, but faintly tinted with yellow: on the back, and sides of the body, all the hairs are of a deep grey or lead colour at the base. The feet and tail are white. The ears are of moderate size, furnished externally with deep golden-coloured hairs, and internally with whitish hairs. The moustaches consist of black and white hairs intermixed.
In 1839 at a meeting of the London Zoological Society George Robert Waterhouse described the Syrian hamster as a new species. His identification of the animal happened after his 1835 appointment as a curator of the museum of the London Zoological Society, where his job was to process mammal specimens. The body in the museum became the type specimen for the new species. There is no record of who collected the specimen nor is there any record of who donated the body to that museum. In 1853 the British Museum purchased the collections of the London Zoological Society, so now, this original hamster is in the British Museum as specimen BM(NH) 1855.12.24.120. Some derivative works of the Waterhouse publication which also presented the existence of the hamster were Louis Fraser's 1849 Zoologia Typica, Christoph Gottfried Andreas Giebel's 1855 Säugetiere, and Henry Baker Tristram's 1884 Fauna and Flora of Palestine.