Campbell's dwarf hamster (Phodopus campbelli) is a species of hamster in the genus Phodopus. It was given its common name by Oldfield Thomas in honor of Charles William Campbell, who collected the first specimen in Mongolia on July 1, 1902. It is distinguished from the closely related Djungarian hamster as it has smaller ears and no dark fur on its crown. Campbell's dwarf hamster typically has a narrow dorsal stripe compared to the Djungarian hamster and grey fur on the stomach. This hamster may be raised in captivity and kept as a small pet. In the wild, the breeding season for Campbell's dwarf hamster varies by location. For example, the breeding season begins towards the middle of April in Tuva and towards the end of April in Mongolia. However, in captivity, there is no fixed breeding season and they can breed frequently throughout the year. Females are usually sexually mature at two months of age and the gestation period is typically 20 days. Campbell's dwarf hamster is crepuscular, along with all species of Phodopus and is active throughout the year. Campbell's dwarf hamsters are omnivores, and so feed on both plant and insect material. Campbell's dwarf hamster inhabits burrows with four to six horizontal and vertical tunnels in the steppes and semi deserts of central Asia, the Altai mountains, autonomous areas of Tuva and the Hebei province in northeastern China. This hamster is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is native to China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russian Federation. Taxonomy and naming The binomial name of Campbell's dwarf hamster is Phodopus campbelli. This species is the type species of Cricetiscus (named by Thomas in 1917, and now considered a synonym of Phodopus), and is named after C. W. Campbell, who first collected it on July 1, 1902, in Inner Mongolia. The type locality was the village Shaborte in Mongolia. This locality has puzzled later writers and was believed to be a general Mongolian word for a dry lake, and therefore with no specific coordinates. However, in the reprint of C. W. Campbell's book "Travels in Mongolia" it is clear that Shaborte is an actual village on the route followed through Mongolia. Thomas described the type specimen in 1905 as Cricetulus campbelli. Synonyms for this species are Phodopus crepidatus and Phodopus tuvinicus. Common names have been applied to Campbell's dwarf hamster, including the