Turkish Journal of Zoology Turk J Zool (2018) 42: 495-498 http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/ © TÜBİTAK Short Communication doi:10.3906/zoo-1712-15

Rediscovered after half a century: a new record of the grey dwarf , migratorius (Mammalia: ), in Romania

1,2, Attila D. SÁNDOR * 1 Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj, Romania 2 NaturalNet Ltd., Cluj, Romania

Received: 11.12.2017 Accepted/Published Online: 02.05.2018 Final Version: 26.07.2018

Abstract: The grey dwarf hamster,Cricetulus migratorius, is the smallest hamster species in Europe, with a highly fragmented distribution in most countries in the south-eastern part of the continent. It is rarely observed, with most records provided by raptor diet studies. Here we report a new observation from extreme north-eastern Romania, based on individuals identified in the diet of owls. The records considerably extend the known geographical range to the north in Romania and these are the first observations from an urban area in the country.

Key words: Elusive species, Eastern Europe, owls, steppe, range extension, urbanisation

The grey dwarf hamster (Cricetulus migratorius) is the from the north-eastern part of Romania, a previously smallest hamster species occurring in Europe and belongs unknown area. to steppe-dwelling , typical of the eastern part of Remains of 2 adult individuals of C. migratorius were the continent (Niethammer, 1982). Among all , it found in pellets of long-eared owls (Asio otus), which has the largest geographical range, occurring in the wide were collected from downtown Botoșani, a city in north- grassland belt from the Carpathians to the east through eastern Romania (47.744909°N, 26.663882°E, Figure 1). Russia and central Asia to Mongolia and western China, The pellets were collected on 10 March 2007 and were while in the south it reaches the Balkans (Bulgaria, produced by a flock of wintering owls, remaining from Greece), the Middle East (the Anatolian part of Turkey, the early winter. Cranial (Figure 2) and long bones (femur, Jordan, Israel), Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern humerus) of the 2 individuals were located in 2 different India (Milchev, 2009; Nedyalkov, 2015; Kryštufek et al., pellets, each also containing one common/sibling vole 2016). The grey dwarf hamster is one of the most common (Microtus arvalis/M. levis). Cricetulus migratorius was rodents in Central Asia (Bykova et al., 2015), while it has a rare prey for the owls, accounting for 0.07% of 2836 a fragmented distribution with low population densities vertebrate prey individuals. Other species found in most parts of its range in Europe (Niethammer, 1982; in the pellets were (in order of their frequency) Microtus Nedyalkov, 2015). It is widely accepted that these are arvalis/M. levis, M. agrestis, M. subterraneus, Apodemus the remaining populations of a much wider Pleistocene agrarius, A. sylvaticus/flavicollis, Mus musculus/spicilegus, distribution when the species (along with other small- Micromys minutus, Crocidura leucodon, A. uralensis, sized hamsters, see Hír, 1993) reached much more to Rattus norvegicus, Sorex minutus, Arvicola amphibius, the west, including Central Europe (Germany, Hungary, C. suaveolens, and Muscardinus avellanarius. Based on Switzerland) (Kowalski, 2001). In Romania, the grey the measurements of M2 and M3 (measurements not dwarf hamster is a rare species with altogether 9 locality shown) the 2 C. migratorius individuals were similar to records known from the central and south-eastern parts those collected by Hamar (1965), Simionescu and Straton of Romanian Moldova (eastern Romania). However, (1966), and Nedyalkov (2016). no individuals were recorded in nearly 50 years and the Cricetulus migratorius was a common species in species is proposed as Critically Endangered (due to its Romania from the Middle Pleistocene (in Dobrogea, rarity) in the Red Data Book of Romania (Botnariuc and Radulesco et al., 1998) to the Younger Dryas in the early Tatole, 2005). Here I report a new record of C. migratorius Holocene (Hamar, 1963; Terzea, 1971), and was present * Correspondence: [email protected] 495 SÁNDOR / Turk J Zool

Figure 1. Map with the geographical distribution of location records of Cricetulus migratorius in Romania and globally (open circles, historic records; filled circles, recent observation in Romania; shaded area, global distribution).

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(at least in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey) with low density populations in most countries (Nedyalkov, 2016). The lack of recent observations in Romania may be due to the paucity of recent effort to locate the species rather than changes in their populations. The general habitat pattern in Botoşani is fairly similar to the old known occurrences from Galați, Iași, and Vaslui counties (Figure 1). Cricetulus migratorius showed high plasticity in its habitat selection in Romania, even at local scale. Straton et al. (1973) summarised the habitats of the capture sites, indicating abandoned vineyards; field margins with perennial grasses; arable lands with pea, corn, or wheat; alfalfa fields; and forest margins as suitable habitats. These habitat types are commonly found in the region even today, and so there is no reason to think that this rare species is threatened by imminent or long-term threats. In addition, hamsters are notorious for their behaviour of avoiding traps, while owls are good collectors of hamster species (Sándor and Bugariu, 2008; Sándor, 2009; Sándor and Ionescu, 2009). The grey dwarf hamster is one of the most common synanthropic species further east in Moldova (Caraman et al., 2014), Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan (Gromov and Erbajeva, 1995), locally more abundant than Mus musculus (Bykova et al., 2015), while it is expanding its range and considered a pest (Nechay, 2000; Kryštufek et al., 2016). Commensal populations were already found in the neighbouring Chișinău (ca. 80 km to the east of our records in the Republic of Moldova, Caraman et al., Figure 2. Mandible of Cricetulus migratorius in comparison to 2014). Our new record is more than 110 km to the north other hamster species present in Romania (from top to bottom: of the northernmost Romanian historical record (Țuțora, A. Cricetulus migratorius, Botoşani, 10 Mar 2007; B. Mesocricetus Iași county; Straton et al., 1973) and may be the result of newtoni, Măcin, 21 Oct 2013; C. Cricetus cricetus, Jigodin Bai, 02 May 2010, all from owl pellets). such a local urbanisation process. Although the location of the present record is in a sprawling urban centre, we have no information on where the owls captured these hamsters. Even so, it is highly likely that the exact capture in most caves yielding vertebrate fossils (Kowalski, 2001). site is close to the roost, as long-eared owls have a fairly There were no records published either in paleontological small home range, conservatively estimated between 500 or cultural layers of archaeological deposits after the and 1300 ha (Henrioux, 2000), and even populations period of Younger Dryas (Bălășescu et al., 2003). Extant roosting in urban centres and hunting in rural areas in individuals of C. migratorius were recorded for the first the neighbourhood do not hunt further than 2–4 km time among the prey remains of A. otus and Athene noctua from their roosting sites (Wijnandts, 1984). in the eastern part of Romania in 1962 (Hamar, 1963), and Cricetulus migratorius is one of the rarest the species was subsequently live-trapped close to the place in Romania, with a handful of known localities. A new of the initial record (Hamar, 1965; Simionescu and Straton, urban record that extends its known range may signal 1966). It was intensively searched in the following years, recent changes in the local distribution of the species and with several new locality records (Figure 1) added until may warrant a targeted study to elucidate the ecology of 1968 (Straton et al., 1973). No further information was local populations. published in Romania after that year. A recent assessment of the Balkan populations of the species (Nedyalkov, 2016) Acknowledgement concluded that the species is most likely rare in Eastern The author would like to thank I Hoza for collecting Europe and has a highly fragmented distribution range pellets and C Domșa for designing the map in Figure 1.

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