Sicista fossil map
Where fossils of Sicista have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 5.333–0.0117 million years ago (Zanclean to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Zapodidae |
| Named by | Gray 1827 |
| Fossil records | 92 occurrences at 23 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Hungary, Romania, Greece, China, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, France, Austria |
| Rock formations | txn:41700, Platanochori, Chikoi |
About Sicista
Birch mice (genus Sicista) are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long, tufted tails and very long hind legs, allowing for remarkable leaps. They are the only extant members of the family Sminthidae. They were formerly classified as part of the subfamily Sicistinae in the family Dipodidae alongside the jerboas and jumping mice. However, phylogenetic evidence supports all three of these belonging to distinct families, thus leaving only the jerboas in Dipodidae and promoting Sicistinae to its own family.
They are native to Eurasian forests, shrublands, and grasslands, and have a vast geographic distribution. They dig shallow burrows in which they build nests from grass, and are typically active at night. They use their large feet to jump and climb on bushes and shrubs, using their toes and tails to cling to branches. Birch mice are omnivores and primarily eat seeds, berries, and insects. They hibernate during the winter, losing a great deal of weight in the process. They are all of a similar small size with relatively long tail lengths.
Sicista contains several species, though population estimates are limited, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorises multiple as endangered or critically endangered.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Birch mouse (revision 1378656816), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q865589.
