Hamster SVG is a mammal that belongs to the animal class, placental infraclass, Euarchontoglires, rodent-growing, rodent-growing, murineous, hamster family (lat. Cricetidae).
Hamster SVG – description, structure, characteristics. How does a hamster look like?
Hamster SVG is a small or medium size rodent with a rather dense body composition, 4 short paws with sharp claws, a small rounded head with a slightly pointed face, small or rather large (as in field hamsters) ears, long moustache, dark bead eyes and a tail from 4 mm to 23-24 cm in length (as in the case of crossbars or forest hamsters). The hamster’s tail can be either almost naked (e.g. rat hamsters) or fluffy (e.g. Neotoma cinerea).
Many hamsters look like rats or mice, some look like squirrels or sleepyheads (the sone-like hamsters, the neotoma cinerea hamster). By the way, the sone-shaped hamsters have large black eyes, which give the face an expression of surprise, and darker wool rings are placed around the eyes.
Depending on the type of hamster’s body length can vary from 4-5 cm (Roborowski’s hamster) to 34 cm (ordinary hamster). The weight of the hamster also depends on the variety and varies from 7 g (for dwarf hamsters) to 700 g or more (for ordinary hamsters). Sexual dimorphism in these animals is almost non-existent, although some female species are slightly larger than males. The hamster’s vision is rather weak, but its hearing and sense of smell are ideally developed. Animals communicate with the help of ultrasounds and squeaks that distinguish the human ear.
The Hamster SVG has 16 teeth, four of which are front incisors, located in pairs above and below, and 12 indigenous ones. The hamster’s teeth have been growing all their lives, so the rodent has to grind them. Surprisingly, the animal’s teeth are covered with strong enamel only in front, and there is almost no layer of enamel on the back side.
Basically, hamster fur is soft, but some varieties (e.g. rice hamsters) may have hard hairs, and cotton hamsters have very hard, almost bristle hair on their backs. The colouring of the rather dense mammalian fur can be very varied. The colour of hamsters in the wild varies from brown-grey, ashy, brown and almost black to red-ochre and golden. Hamster hair on the abdomen and legs can be white, creamy, black, grayish or yellowish. Some species, such as the Jungar hamster, have a clear gray or black stripe along the back. In some species (e.g. field hamsters), the tail may be two-colored: dark from above and white from below. The soles of the hind legs of animals can also be covered with thick wool, as in the case of Tengmalm’s hamsters of the genus Phodopus. By the way, the Jungar hamsters belong to this genus.
A distinctive feature of many hamsters (except for the South African Mystromys albicaudatus and some others) are the cheeky (cheeky) bags – unusual muscular cavities, which are located on the sides of the head, passing into the neck and shoulder area. The cheek sacks in hamsters serve as a sort of storage room where animals temporarily store their food to eat in a hidden place or hide it in storage. In these bags the animals can carry up to 50 g of their favorite treats at a time. Some hamster species have glands on the inside of their pouches that produce a smelly secret. It helps adults to normalize the digestive process and strengthen the immune system, and in the case of small hamsters contributes to proper growth and development. There are suggestions that this odorous substance gives the animals the opportunity to find the smell of food hidden earlier in a secluded place. By the way, some hamsters swim well and dive into the cheek sacks, taking in air. For example, rabbit and membrane-toed hamsters even have swimming membranes between the toes of their hind legs.