Myomimus personatus Ognev 1924
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 personatus

description: 21.
Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse
Myomimus personatus
French: Loir d'Ognev / German: Ognev-Mausschlafer / Spanish: Liron de Ognev
Other common names: Asiatic Dormouse, Masked Mouse-tailed Dormouse, Ognev’'s Dormouse
Taxonomy. Myomimus personatus Ognev, 1924,
along the Sumbar River, near KaineKassyr, W Kopet Dag Mts, SW Turkmenistan.
In 1982, J. Niethammer identified owl pellet remains from a cave in west-central Afghanistan to be M. personatus based on dental and lower jaw morphology. Other mammal species identified in the owl pellets, such as Ochotona rufescens (Ochotonidae) and Blanfordimys afghanus (Cricetidae), led Niethammerto conclude that the owl pellet remains were historical, perhaps even centuries old, because neither the pika nor vole had been captured recently in the vicinity of the cave, or at such a low elevation of 1000 m. He surmised present local climatic conditions to be too xeric to support these species and suggested that pellets dated back to the Middle Ages when a more humid climate prevailed in the region. In Iran and Turkmenistan, Ochotona rufescens and Blanfordimys afghanus have distributions similar to M. personatus, so their occurrence together in owl pellet remains was not surprising. No additional examples of M. personatus have been recorded from Afghanistan in the 30 years since Niethammer’s findings, but the speciesis so rarely encountered that only ten individuals have been captured within its distribution in Iran and Turkmenistan since S. I. Ognev first discovered the species almost a century ago; all other records are from owl pellets. The species was not included in the most recent list of mammals of Afghanistan by K. Habibi in 2004, although future surveys in foothills and mountains near Herat adjacent to the Hari River Valley in Afghanistan may yield additional records. One common name applied to this species is the “Masked Mouse-tailed Dormouse”; some individuals have dark fur under their vibrissae and narrow, dark rings around their eyes, creating the appearance of a facial mask. Eye mask pattern is found in all three subfamilies of dormice; in M. personatus and Glis glis, its expression is subtle compared with other species such as Eliomys quercinus and Graphiurus ocularis. Monotypic.
Distribution. SW Asia, Kopet Dag Mts and Malyy Balkhan Mts of SW Turkmenistan and NE Iran; historic remains from WC Afghanistan discussed under taxonomy. Distributional limits are not known.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 73-77 mm, tail 53-69 mm, ear 14-15-7 mm, hindfoot 14-16-4 mm; weight 11-6 g. No sexual dimorphism reported. Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is the smallest in the genus and usually characterized by facial markings and conspicuous mid-dorsal stripe. Dorsal pelage is pale ash-gray to pale tan, with dark mid-dorsal stripe from crown to rump that may appear indistinct or as broad, dark band. Ventral pelage is white. 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 eye mask; some individuals lack conspicuous dark eye-rings but have dark vibrissae spots. Hindfeet are white, ¢.21% of head-body length. Tail is sparsely haired and moderately long, c.81% of head-body length. Tail color is generally paler than that of dorsal pelage; dorsaltail color is darker than ventral surface. Greatest length of skull and zygomatic breadth measurements are not available; condylobasal length is 22-1-22-5 mm, and upper tooth row length is 3-3-3-5 mm. External and cranial measurements listed are pooled values for specimens from Mount Dushak and Archabil District (= Firyuza), Turkmenistan, and for specimens from Tutli-Kala in the Sumbar River Valley (west Kopet Dag Mountains), Turkmenistan. Karyotype is 2n = 44. Number of mammary glands has not been reported. Glans penis is cylindrical and covered with small spines.
Habitat. Restricted to rocky semi-desert scrub, steppe, and xerophytic woodland. Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice have been captured in dense grass and herbaceous cover among scattered rocks and rocky outcrops, in sparse shrubland and scrub, in grass or shrub cover among scattered almond trees, and in juniper woodland at elevations of 700-2400 m in gorges and river valleys such as the Sumbar River Basin, in foothills and slopes of the Kopet Dag and Malyy Balkhan Mountains, and on the summit of Mount Dushak.
Food and Feeding. Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice are probably omnivorous. Captive individuals consumed small vertebrates such as lizards weighing up to 10-12 g and butterflies, longhorn beetle larvae, and other invertebrates. The type specimen and several additional specimens were captured at night during entomological surveys; bright light used to attract moths and other insects also lured insect-seeking Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice.
Breeding. Reproductive activity of Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice begins in midto late April shortly after they emerge from hibernation; a single litter is produced by late May. In the western Kopet Dag Mountains, three females pregnant with 8-12 embryos were captured in late April, and two females carrying six and nine embryos each were obtained in mid-May and appeared to be close to full-term; embryos measured 17 mm. Subadults with deciduous dentition were captured in the western Kopet Dag Mountains in early June.
Activity patterns. Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is crepuscular and nocturnal. Length of hibernation has not been documented, butfive pregnant females were captured in late April and mid-May, indicating that Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormice usually emerge in early April. One individual obtained during a cold,late spring in late April was either in a state of torpor or had not yet emerged from hibernation.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Scant habitat information combined with morphology suggests that Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse is terrestrial and rupicolous. It is probably solitary. Reports indicate that it easily climbs steep stone surfaces and it has been suggested that it nests in rock crevices and excavates nesting burrows among rocks.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. This classification is based on lack of information regarding distributional limits and population size. Population trend is classified as unknown due to only a handful of specimens, some of which were from owl pellets. Threats to the Ognev’s Mouse-tailed Dormouse and the Kopet Dag Woodlands ecoregion include clear cutting of woodland for firewood,still used as a primary fuel source in this region. Overgrazing by domestic cattle in watersheds and montane woodland has resulted in habitat destruction and mudslides. World Wildlife Fund classified the Kopet Dag Woodlands ecoregion as critical/ endangered in 2015. Its high levels of biodiversity and endemism of wild plant and animal species, many of which are rare or endangered, make conservation of this ecoregion a priority. The Ministry of Nature Protection of the Government of Turkmenistan developed a biodiversity strategy in 2002 that included an action plan for conservation, and three national parks have been established in the North Khorasan Province of Iran.
Bibliography. Csorba (1993), Darvish & Rastegar-Pouyani (2012), Graphodatsky (2006), Gromov & Erbajeva (1995), Habibi (2004), Kurbanov et al. (1990), Marinina et al. (1987), Ministry of Nature Protection of the Government of Turkmenistan (2002), Niethammer (1982), Obuch (2014), Rossolimo et al. (2001), Shenbrot & Krystufek (2008), WWF (2015).
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 page 856, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6604339