Myomimus setzeri Rossolimo 1976
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Gliridae
Myomimus
Myomimus setzeri

description: 20.
Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse
Myomimus setzeri
French: Loir de Setzer / German: Setze-Mausschlafer / Spanish: Lirén de Setzer
Other common names: Iranian Dormouse
Taxonomy. Myomimus setzert Rossolimo, 1976,
4 km west of Bane, Kordestan Province, western Iran.
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Known only from three localities in extreme E Turkey (Sarikamis, Ishak Pasa Sarayi, and Bendimahi) and the Zagros Mts of NW Iran (Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, and Lorestan provinces). Distributional limits are not known.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 75-88 mm, tail 60-67 mm, ear 14-15 mm, hindfoot 15 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. No sexual dimorphism reported. Dorsal pelage of Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is reddish brown, sometimes with copper hue, shorter and not as soft as that of Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice (M. personatus). Dorsal pelage darkens toward middorsal line. Darkening may be faint or appear as indistinct mid-dorsal stripe extending from crown to rump. Ventral pelage is predominantly white, with slate gray bases of ventral fur hairs. Sides of body and cheeks appear paler, and dorsal pelage is clearly demarcated from ventral pelage. Some individuals have dark fur under vibrissae and narrow, dark rings around eyes, creating appearance of subtle but distinct facial mask. Hindfeet are grayish white, c.19% of head—body length. Tail is moderately long (c.86% of head-body length), and sparsely haired. Tail color is whitish gray, darker above and paler on ventral surface. Condylobasal length is 20-4-20-7 mm, zygomatic breadth is 12 mm, and upper tooth row length is 3 mm. External and cranial and measurements are from type series. There is no information regarding chromosome number. Number of mammary glands is not known.
Habitat. Three individuals from Sarikamis in eastern Turkey were captured under the same large stone with grassy cover in sparse forest of mature pines. Setzer’s Mousetailed Dormice have also been found in pistachio (Pistacia sp., Anacardiaceae) savanna. They have been recorded at elevations of 1800-2800 m.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. In Iran, female Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormice have been captured in late April and late May, and presumably breeding activity takes place soon after emergence from hibernation, as early as late April.
Activity patterns. Setzer’'s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is probably crepuscular and nocturnal. Captures of individuals as early as late April suggest that they emerge from hibernation by midto late April.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is probably solitary; it is semi-terrestrial or terrestrial. In an analysis of owl pellets in eastern Turkey, Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormice comprised only ¢.0-3% of all mammal prey species from four pooled localities, but the percentage was somewhat higher, at 1-8%, from four pooled localities in north-western Iran.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. There is a lack of available data regarding habitat requirements, ecology, natural history, and potential threats. Setzer’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse was classified as Endangered in 1996. Population trend is unknown due to paucity of data. Fewer than ten individuals have been captured; all other records (twelve from Turkey and 41 from Iran) are from owl pellets, such as those of Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo).
Bibliography. Etemad (1978), Krystufek & Vohralik (2005), Krystufek, Amori & Mitsain (2008), Obuch (2001, 2014), Rossolimo (1976a), Rossolimo et al. (2001).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Gliridae, pp. 838-889 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 855-856, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6604339