Dormouse

The **dormouse** (plural: dormice) is a rodent in the family **Gliridae**. Dormice live in Europe, Africa, and Asia. They are known for their long periods of hibernation. Only one species of dormouse normally lives in the British Isles, so there "dormouse" usually means the hazel dormouse, not the whole family of dormice.

## Characteristics

Dormice are small rodents, with a body length of between , and weighing between . They are usually mouse-like in appearance, but they have furry tails instead of scaly tails. They are usually arboreal animals (living in trees). They move quickly and are good at climbing. Most species are nocturnal. Dormice have a very good sense of hearing. They make noises to each other with different sounds using their voices.

Dormice are omnivorous, usually eating fruits, berries, flowers, nuts and insects. Dormice are different to all other rodents because they do not have a cecum which is a part of the gut. Other animals use the cecum to ferment plants. Their teeth are like squirrels, but they often do not have premolars.

Dormice breed one or two times per year, having an average of four young after a gestation period of 21–32 days. Dormice can live for as long as five years. The young are born without hair and they cannot do anything for themselves. Their eyes do not open until about eighteen days after birth. They are usually ready to reproduce after the end of their first hibernation. Dormice live in small family groups. The area they live in depends on which species they are, and how much food is available.

### Hibernation

One of the main characteristics of dormice that live in temperate zones is hibernation.  Dormice can hibernate six months out of the year, or even longer if the weather remains cold enough. They sometimes wake for a short amount of time so that they can eat food which they had previously stored nearby. During the summer, they store fat in their bodies, to give the dormouse the energy it needs to survive through the hibernation period.

Hibernation is where the name dormouse comes from. The Anglo-Norman word _dormeus_ means "sleepy (one)"; the word was later changed to resemble the word "mouse". The sleepy behaviour of the Dormouse character in Lewis Carroll's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ also shows this trait.

## Relationship with humans

The edible dormouse was thought to be a special food in ancient Rome. It was eaten as an appetizer or as a dessert. When it was eaten as a dessert, it would be dipped in honey and poppy seeds. The Romans had a special place to keep dormice which was called a _glirarium_. Dormice are still eaten in Slovenia, and apparently also by the Mafia.  Dormouse fat was used by the Elizabethans to induce sleep.

## Evolution

The earliest fossil evidence of dormice has been found in Europe from the early Eocene times. They were in Africa in the upper Miocene. Their appearance in Asia was not as long ago. Many types of extinct dormouse species have been found. During the Pleistocene, giant dormice the size of large rats (for example _Leithia melitensis_) lived on the islands of Malta and Sicily.

## Classification

The family consists of 34 living species, in three subfamilies and 10 genera (although not all scientists agree with this number):

Family: **Gliridae**
- Subfamily Graphiurinae
    - Genus _Graphiurus_ (African dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus angolensis_, (Angolan African dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus christyi_ (Christy's dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus crassicaudatus_ (Jentink's dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus johnstoni_ (Johnston's African dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus kelleni_ (Kellen's dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus lorraineus_ (Lorrain dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus microtis_ (Small-eared dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus monardi_ (Monard's dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus murinus_ (Woodland dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus nagtglasii_ (Nagtglas's African dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus ocularis_ (Spectacled dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus platyops_ (Rock dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus rupicola_ (Stone dormouse)
        - Species _Graphiurus surdus_ (Silent dormouse)
- Subfamily Leithiinae
    - Genus _Chaetocauda_
        - Species _Chaetocauda sichuanensis_ (Chinese dormouse)
    - Genus _Dryomys_
        - Species _Dryomys laniger_ (Woolly dormouse)
        - Species _Dryomys niethammeri_ (Niethammer's forest dormouse)
        - Species _Dryomys nitedula_ (Forest dormouse)
    - Genus _Eliomys_ (Garden dormice)
        - Species _Eliomys melanurus_ (Asian garden dormouse)
        - Species _Eliomys munbyanus_ (Maghreb garden dormouse)
        - Species _Eliomys quercinus_ (Garden dormouse)
    - Genus _Hypnomys_† (Balearic dormouse - extinct)
        - Species _Hypnomys morphaeus_†
        - Species _Hypnomys mahonensis_†
    - Genus _Muscardinus_
        - Species _Muscardinus avellanarius_ (Hazel dormouse)
    - Genus _Myomimus_ (Mouse-tailed dormouse)
        - Species _Myomimus personatus_ (Masked mouse-tailed dormouse)
        - Species _Myomimus roachi_ (Roach's mouse-tailed dormouse)
        - Species _Myomimus setzeri_ (Setzer's mouse-tailed dormouse)
    - Genus _Selevinia_
        - Species _Selevinia betpakdalaensis_ (Desert dormouse)
- Subfamily Glirinae
    - Genus _Glirulus_
        - Species _Glirulus japonicus_ (Japanese dormouse)
    - Genus _Glis_
        - Species _Glis glis_ (Edible dormouse)

### Fossil species

- Subfamily Bransatoglirinae
    - Genus _Oligodyromys_
    - Genus _Bransatoglis_
        - Species _Bransatoglis adroveri_ Majorca, Early Oligocene
        - Species _Bransatoglis planus_ Eurasia, Early Oligocene

## References

- Holden M.E. 2005. Family Gliridae. pp. 819–841 in _Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference_. D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

## Related pages

- Hazel dormouse

## Other websites

- BBC Wales Nature: Dormouse article
- Glirarium.org
- Fauna of Europe: Glis glis