The species L. luteus and L. przewalski sometimes have been put in their own subgenus, Eolagurus Argyropulo, 1946. In the relatively small species L. lagurus the back is light gray or cinnamon gray with a black stripe along the spine. L. luteus has a sand yellow back. The underparts are whitish. Lagurus resembles Lemmiscus but is distinguished by a tail that is usually shorter than the hind foot, extremely small ears, and various internal characters, as noted in the account of the latter genus.
Females have eight mammae.
These animals inhabit steppes and semidesert areas and occasionally pastures and cultivated fields. They construct temporary burrows to shelter from danger and larger burrows for residence. The latter generally have only two or three openings and may extend to 90 cm below the surface. About halfway down is a spherical, grass-lined nest chamber with an average diameter of 10 cm. Activity is mainly nocturnal.