Mesocricetus brandti (Nehring, 1898) . Zool. Anz., 21:331.

TYPE LOCALITY: U.S. S. R., Georgia, near Tbilisi .

DISTRIBUTION: N. Transcaucasia (U.S. S.R.); Kurdistan; possibly Lebanon, and Israel; see comment under auratus .

COMMENT: Zilfian et al., 1975, [Abstr. Symp. Syst. and Cytogenet. Mamm.], Moscow, p. 18- 19, considered brandti distinct from auratus; this had been considered possible by Corbet, 1978:92, Todd et al., 1972, J. Hered., 63:73-77, and others.