| Birch mice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sicista betulina | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Sminthidae |
| Genus: | Sicista J. E. Gray, 1827 |
| Type species | |
| Mus subtilis Pallas, 1773 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Birch mice (genusSicista) are small jumpingrodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the familySminthidae.[1] They are native to Eurasian forests andsteppes. 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).[2] The animal's skin color is light brown or dark-brown to brownish yellow on the upper side and paler on the underside, but generally brownish.[2] Birch mice have a vast geographic distribution in that they inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semiarid areas to subalpine meadows.[3] Although they have a diverse region of areas, their molecular and anatomical markers have claimed that Birch mice originated from Central Asia.[4] Birch mice have a systematic of the genus ofSicista, they look at the male reproductive organs and cytogenic data.[5]
Nineteen species are listed by theAmerican Society of Mammalogists as of 2021:[6]
All species ofSicista cluster into five major lineages:S. betulina,S. caucasica,S. caudata,S. tianschanica, andS. concolor.[7]
