AnAge entry for Mesocricetus auratus

Classification (HAGRID: 03328)
Taxonomy	Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry) Order: Rodentia Family: Muridae Genus: Mesocricetus
Species	Mesocricetus auratus
Common name	Golden hamster
Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
Maximum longevity	3.9 years (captivity)
Source	ref. 671
Sample size	medium
Data quality	acceptable
Observations	Although anecdotal reports suggest a higher longevity, which seems unlikely but not impossible, the maximum longevity of this species is 3.9 years [0671]. Their average longevity is 2-3 years with peak fecundity occurring at about 1 year of age [0434].
Genes have been associated with ageing in this organism
Life history traits (averages)
Female sexual maturity	48 days
Male sexual maturity	48 days
Gestation	16 days
Weaning	20 days
Litter size	9 (viviparous)
Litters per year	3
Inter-litter interval
Weight at birth	2.45 g
Weight at weaning	22.93 g
Adult weight	105 g
Postnatal growth rate	0.0574 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual	39 %
Metabolism
Typical body temperature	311ºK or 38.1ºC or 100.6ºF
Basal metabolic rate	0.6900 W
Body mass	108.2 g
Metabolic rate per body mass	0.006377 W/g
References
[0776] Seluanov et al. (2007), Telomerase activity coevolves with body mass not lifespan, PubMed [0608] Hartig et al. (2005), Phosphorylation of the tau protein sequence 199-205 in the hippocampal CA3 region of Syrian hamsters in adulthood and during aging, PubMed [0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World [0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology [0420] White and Seymour (2003), Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass2/3, PubMed [0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals [0257] Duncan and Hensler (2002), Aging alters in a region-specific manner serotonin transporter sites and 5-HT(1A) receptor-G protein interactions in hamster brain, PubMed [0258] Shahlaie et al. (2001), Age-related changes in potentiation of evoked responses in CA1 pyramidal cells from the hamster hippocampus, PubMed [0259] Minieri et al. (1999), The cardiomyopathic hamster as model of early myocardial aging, PubMed [0189] Kapahi et al. (1999), Positive correlation between mammalian life span and cellular resistance to stress, PubMed [0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World [0260] Zhang et al. (1998), Effects of aging on lens transmittance and retinal input to the suprachiasmatic nucleus in golden hamsters, PubMed [0261] Kishimoto et al. (1998), Age-related changes of calbindin-D28k, calretinin, and parvalbumin mRNAs in the hamster brain, PubMed [0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data [0262] Zhang and Kelsen (1990), Effects of aging on diaphragm contractile function in golden hamsters, PubMed [0542] Bernhard Grzimek (1990), Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals [0272] Anderson and King (1988), Subclinical lumbar polyradiculopathy in multiple aged mammalian species, PubMed [0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction [0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
External resources
Integrated Taxonomic Information System	ITIS 632735
Animal Diversity Web	ADW account
Encyclopedia of Life	Search EOL
Genome Project	Search NCBI
Entrez	Search all databases Entrez Taxonomy search
Ageing literature	Search Google Scholar Search PubMed Search Scirus
Images	Google Image search
Internet	Search Google

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