One of four genera of hamsters; C. griseus, the striped hamster native to Europe and Asia, is a reservoir for visceral leishmaniasis.
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Cri·ce·tu·lus -'sēt-əl-əs, -'set- n a large genus of small short-tailed Asian hamsters that resemble the New World white-footed mice
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Cri·ce·tu·lus (kri-seґtu-ləs) a genus of rodents of the family Muridae, one of several genera of hamsters. C. griґseus is the Chinese hamster.Medical dictionary. 2011.