Hamsters Mesocricetus brandti

This chapter summaries work done with golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and Turkish hamsters Mesocricetus brandti) designed to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms used in social recognition by individual odor cues. The research demonstrates the high degree of similarity in the odors of close relatives, the importance of social experience in discrimination of these odors, and the importance of these family similarities in odor for kin recognition. 

Heth, G., Todrank, J. and Johnston, R.E. (1999) Similarity in the qualities of individual odors among kin and species in Turkish (Mesocricetus brandti) and golden (Mesocricetus auratus) hamsters. J. Comp. Psychol. 113, 321-326. 

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