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mick

08/07/19 7:31 PM

#204459 RE: mick #204457

The Myth

In 1797, physician Alexander Russell discovered a small rodent in Aleppo — a Syrian city, and one of the oldest on the planet.

It was a tiny little guy with soft, glossy, golden and gray fur. It had cute little legs and a tail, with a black and white “moustache,” or whiskers.

The lone specimen on exhibition remained unspecified for decades until 1839, when zoological curator George Robert Waterhouse declared it a new species: the Syrian golden hamster.