19. Gray Dwarf Hamster, Nothocricetulus migratorius (Pallas, 1773)

(IUCN Red List: LC)

Subspecies: N. m. phaeus (Pallas, 1779); cinerascens (Wagner, 1848) is a synonym.

Distribution: Common and widely spread in rocky habitats covered by grasslands; avoids arid and semi-arid areas (Fig. 25).

Previous records: Hamah (Aharoni 1932), Qal’at Al-Hosson (Pradel 1981; Nadachowski et al. 1990), Mount Hermon (Yom-Tov 1988; Filippucci et al. 1989), Aleppo, Hamah, and Al-Qaryatein (Harrison 1972), between Mhardeh-Shaizar and ar- Rasafah (Shehab et al. 2004), Mzeirib and Khrab Al-Shaham (Shehab 2005), Khrab Al-Shaham, Serghaya, Muzirib, Daraa Dam, Kharabow, Busra, Karahta, ash-Sheikh Miskeen and Tafas (Shehab et al. 2018), and Yahmool (Shehab & Charabi 2006).

Remarks:The genus name used by earlier authors was Cricetulus,moved now to the recently described Nothocricetulus (Lebedev et al. 2018) .