Adormouse is arodent of thefamilyGliridae (this family is also variously calledMyoxidae orMuscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormanthibernation period of six months or longer.[2] There are 9 genera and 28 living species of dormice, with half of living species belonging to the African genusGraphiurus.[3]
The word dormouse comes fromMiddle Englishdormous, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal element*dor-, fromOld Norsedár'benumbed' and Middle Englishmous'mouse'.
The word is sometimes conjectured to come from anAnglo-Norman derivative ofdormir'to sleep', with the second element mistaken formouse, but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.[4][5]
The Latin nounglīs, which is the origin of the scientific name, descends from theProto-Indo-European noun*gl̥h₁éys'weasel, mouse', and is related toSanskritगिरि (girí)'mouse' andAncient Greekγαλέη (galéē)'weasel'.
Dormice are small rodents, with body lengths between 6 and 19 cm (2.4 and 7.5 in), and weight between 15 and 180 g (0.53 and 6.35 oz).[6] They are generallymouse-like in appearance, but withfurredtails. They are largelyarboreal, agile, and well-adapted to climbing. Most species arenocturnal. Dormice have an excellent sense ofhearing and signal each other with a variety of vocalisations.[7]
Dormice areomnivorous, and typically feed on berries, flowers, fruits, insects, and nuts. They are unique among rodents in that they lack acecum, a part of the gut used in other species to ferment vegetable matter. Theirdental formula is similar to that ofsquirrels, although they often lackpremolars:
Dormice breed once (or, occasionally, twice) each year, producing litters with an average of four young after agestation period of 22–24 days. They can live for as long as five years. The young are born hairless and helpless, and their eyes do not open until about 18 days after birth. They typically become sexually mature after the end of their first hibernation. Dormice live in small family groups, with home ranges that vary widely between species and depend on the availability of food.[7]
One of the most notable characteristics of those dormice that live intemperate zones is hibernation. They can hibernate six months out of the year, or even longer if the weather does not become warm enough, sometimes waking for brief periods to eat food they had previously stored nearby. During the summer, they accumulate fat in their bodies to nourish them through the hibernation period.[7]
Theedible dormouse (Glis glis) was considered adelicacy in ancient Rome, either as a savoury appetizer or as a dessert (dipped in honey and poppy seeds). The Romans used a special kind of enclosure, aglirarium, to raise and fatten dormice for the table.[7] It is still considered a delicacy inSlovenia and in several places inCroatia, namelyLika, and the islands ofHvar andBrač.[8][9] Dormouse fat was believed by theElizabethans to induce sleep since the animal put on fat before hibernating.[10]
In more recent years,[11] dormice have begun to enter the pet trade; however, they are uncommon as pets and are considered anexotic pet. Thewoodland dormouse (Graphiurus murinus) is the most commonly seen species in the pet trade.[12]Asian garden dormice (Eliomys melanurus) are also occasionally kept as pets.[13]
Dormice likely originated in Europe, with the earliest dormouse genusEogliravus being known from the Early Eocene (around 48-41 million years ago) of France. Dormice were relatively undiverse in the Eocene, but considerably diversified during theOligocene (34-23 million years ago). Their ability to hibernate may have emerged during this period. They reached an apex of diversity during the late EarlyMiocene (around 17 million years ago[14]) when there were 18 genera and 36 species of dormice in Europe alone during this period.[3] During this timespan, dormice represented the dominant group of rodents in Europe.[14]
The earliest Asian dormice are known from the early Miocene, and the Miocene saw the emergence of several of the modern genera of living dormice. The diversity of dormice saw continual decline until the middlePliocene, when there was again a period of speciation, mostly driven by the diversification of the AfricanGraphiurus, which first appeared during the Pliocene, while the diversity of European dormice remained relatively low compared to their Miocene peak.[3]
Several dormouse lineages experiencedinsular gigantism after being isolated on islands in the Mediterranean during the Pliocene andPleistocene, the largest being the rabbit-sizedLeithia of Sicily and Malta, the biggest ever.[15]
^"www.oocities.org/efexotics/africandormouse.html". 2009.As far as I know, my own pet shop in Cambridgeshire was the first pet shop in Britain to regularly stock the species (this was as recently as the 1990s).
^Holden, Mary Ellen; Levine, Rebecca S (2009). "Chapter 9. Systematic Revision of Sub-Saharan African Dormice (Rodentia: Gliridae:Graphiurus) Part II: Description of a New Species ofGraphiurus from the Central Congo Basin, Including Morphological and Ecological Niche Comparisons withG. crassicaudatus andG. lorraineus".Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.331:314–355.doi:10.1206/582-9.1.S2CID85409018.
Holden, M. E. (2005). "Family Gliridae". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.).Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 819–841.
