Gliridae is a family of smallmammals in theorderRodentia and part of theSciuromorpha suborder. Members of this family are called glirids or dormice. They are found in Europe, Africa, and western and central Asia, primarily in forests,savannas, andshrublands, though some species can be found in wetlands, deserts, or rocky areas. They range in size fromSetzer's mouse-tailed dormouse, at 6 cm (2 in) plus a 6 cm (2 in) tail, to theEuropean edible dormouse, at 19 cm (7 in) plus an 18 cm (7 in) tail. Glirids are omnivores and feed on fruit and nuts, as well as invertebrates, birds and their eggs, and small rodents. Thedesert dormouse feeds primarily on insects and spiders.^[1] No glirids have population estimates, though none are categorized asendangered species orcritically endangered.

The twenty-nine extant species of Gliridae are divided into three subfamilies:Glirinae, containing two species in twogenera;Graphiurinae, containing a single genus of fifteen species; andLeithiinae, containing twelve species in six genera. A few extinct prehistoric glirid species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries, the exact number and categorization is not fixed.^[2]

Theauthor citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the glirid's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Gliridae is afamily consisting of twenty-nine species in ninegenera. These genera are divided between three subfamilies:Glirinae,Graphiurinae, andLeithiinae.

Family Gliridae

• SubfamilyGlirinae
  • GenusGlirulus (Japanese dormouse): one species
  • GenusGlis (European edible dormouse): one species
• SubfamilyGraphiurinae
  • GenusGraphiurus (African dormice): fifteen species
• SubfamilyLeithiinae
  • GenusChaetocauda (Chinese dormouse): one species
  • GenusDryomys (forest dormice): three species
  • GenusEliomys (garden dormice): three species
  • GenusMuscardinus (hazel dormouse): one species
  • GenusMyomimus (mouse-tailed dormouse): three species
  • GenusSelevinia (desert dormouse): one species

The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference workMammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since usingmolecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and theAmerican Society of Mammalogists.^[4]

GenusGlis –Brisson, 1762 – one species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
European edible dormouse	G. glis (Linnaeus, 1766)	Europe and western Asia	Size: 13–19 cm (5–7 in) long, plus 10–18 cm (4–7 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest and shrubland[7]	LC  Unknown[7]

GenusGraphiurus –Smuts, 1832 – fifteen species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Angolan African dormouse	G. angolensis De Winton, 1897	Angola andZambia	Size: 7–12 cm (3–5 in) long, plus 7–10 cm (3–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[9]	DD  Unknown[9]
Christy's dormouse	G. christyi Dollman, 1914	Central Africa	Size: 8–11 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 7–10 cm (3–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[10]	LC  Unknown[10]
Jentink's dormouse	G. crassicaudatus (Jentink, 1888)	Western Africa	Size: 8–10 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 5–7 cm (2–3 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[11]	DD  Unknown[11]
Johnston's African dormouse	G. johnstoni Thomas, 1898	Malawi	Size: 6–9 cm (2–4 in) long, plus 6–8 cm (2–3 in) tail[8] Habitat: Savanna[12]	DD  Unknown[12]
Kellen's dormouse	G. kelleni (Reuvens, 1890)	ScatteredSub-Saharan Africa	Size: 7–10 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 5–9 cm (2–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Savanna and forest[13]	LC  Unknown[13]
Lorrain dormouse	G. lorraineus Dollman, 1910	Western and central Africa	Size: 7–10 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 5–8 cm (2–3 in) tail[8] Habitat: Savanna and forest[14]	LC  Unknown[14]
Monard's dormouse	G. monardi (St. Leger, 1936)	South-central Africa	Size: About 16 cm (6 in) long, plus about 13 cm (5 in) tail[8] Habitat: Savanna[15]	DD  Unknown[15]
Nagtglas's African dormouse	G. nagtglasii Jentink, 1888	Western Africa	Size: 12–16 cm (5–6 in) long, plus 6–13 cm (2–5 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[16]	LC  Unknown[16]
Rock dormouse	G. platyops Thomas, 1897	Southern Africa	Size: 9–13 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 6–10 cm (2–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest and rocky areas[17]	LC  Unknown[17]
Silent dormouse	G. surdus Dollman, 1912	Western Africa	Size: 8–11 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 6–9 cm (2–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[18]	DD  Unknown[18]
Small-eared dormouse	G. microtis (Noack, 1887)	Scattered Sub-Saharan Africa	Size: 7–12 cm (3–5 in) long, plus 6–9 cm (2–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest, savanna, and shrubland[19]	LC  Unknown[19]
Spectacled dormouse	G. ocularis (Smith, 1829)	South Africa	Size: 11–15 cm (4–6 in) long, plus 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tail[8] Habitat: Shrubland and rocky areas[20]	LC  Unknown[20]
Stone dormouse	G. rupicola (Thomas &Hinton, 1925)	Namibia and South Africa	Size: 10–12 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 9–12 cm (4–5 in) tail[8] Habitat: Rocky areas[21]	LC  Unknown[21]
Walter Verheyen's African dormouse	G. walterverheyeni Holden &Levine, 2009	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Size: About 7 cm (3 in) long, plus about 6 cm (2 in) tail[8] Habitat: Forest[22]	DD  Unknown[22]
Woodland dormouse	G. murinus (Desmarest, 1822)	Eastern and southern Africa	Size: 8–12 cm (3–5 in) long, plus 7–9 cm (3–4 in) tail[8] Habitat: Inland wetlands, grassland, shrubland, savanna, and forest[23]	LC  Unknown[23]

GenusDryomys –Thomas, 1905 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Balochistan forest dormouse	D. niethammeri Holden, 1996	CentralPakistan	Size: 9–11 cm (4–4 in) long, plus about 9 cm (4 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest[25]	VU  Unknown[25]
Forest dormouse	D. nitedula (Pallas, 1778)	Eastern Europe and western and central Asia	Size: 7–11 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 6–11 cm (2–4 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest, shrubland, and rocky areas[26]	LC  Unknown[26]
Woolly dormouse	D. laniger Felten &Storch, 1968	Turkey	Size: 8–10 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 4–8 cm (2–3 in) tail[5] Habitat: Rocky areas[27]	DD  Unknown[27]

GenusEliomys –Wagner, 1840 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Asian garden dormouse	E. melanurus (Wagner, 1839)	Northern Africa and western Asia	Size: 11–15 cm (4–6 in) long, plus 10–14 cm (4–6 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest, shrubland, and rocky areas[28]	LC  Unknown[28]
Garden dormouse	E. quercinus (Linnaeus, 1766)	Europe and western Asia	Size: 9–12 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 8–11 cm (3–4 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest and rocky areas[29]	VU  Unknown[29]
Maghreb garden dormouse	E. munbyanus (Pomel, 1856)	Northern Africa	Size: 10–14 cm (4–6 in) long, plus 9–12 cm (4–5 in) tail[5] Habitat: Coastal marine, desert, rocky areas, shrubland, and forest[30]	LC  Unknown[30]

GenusMuscardinus –Kaup, 1829 – one species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Hazel dormouse	M. avellanarius (Linnaeus, 1758)	Europe and western Asia	Size: 6–10 cm (2–4 in) long, plus 5–9 cm (2–4 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest[31]	LC  Unknown[31]

GenusMyomimus –Ogniov, 1924 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Masked mouse-tailed dormouse	M. personatus Ogniov, 1924	West-central Asia	Size: 7–8 cm (3–3 in) long, plus 5–7 cm (2–3 in) tail[5] Habitat: Shrubland[32]	DD  Unknown[32]
Roach's mouse-tailed dormouse	M. roachi (Bate, 1937)	Southeastern Europe and Turkey	Size: 8–14 cm (3–6 in) long, plus 6–10 cm (2–4 in) tail[5] Habitat: Shrubland and unknown[33]	VU  Unknown[33]
Setzer's mouse-tailed dormouse	M. setzeri Rossolimo, 1976	Western Asia	Size: 6–9 cm (2–4 in) long, plus 6–7 cm (2–3 in) tail[5] Habitat: Forest and savanna[34]	DD  Unknown[34]

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