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A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibernation period of six months or longer. There are 9 genera and 28 living species of dormice, with half of living species belonging to the African genus Graphiurus.
The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of dormir , with the second element mistaken for mouse, but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.Random House Dictionary, dormouse.
The Latin noun glīs, which is the origin of the scientific name, descends from the Proto-Indo-European noun *gl̥h₁éys , and is related to Sanskrit गिरि () and Ancient Greek γαλέη () .
Dormice are omnivore, and typically feed on berries, flowers, fruits, insects, and nuts. They are unique among rodents in that they lack a cecum, a part of the gut used in other species to ferment vegetable matter. Their dentition is similar to that of , although they often lack :
Dormice breed once (or, occasionally, twice) each year, producing litters with an average of four young after a gestation 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.
In more recent years, dormice have begun to enter the pet trade; however, they are uncommon as pets and are considered an exotic pet. The woodland dormouse ( Graphiurus murinus) is the most commonly seen species in the pet trade. Asian garden dormice ( Eliomys melanurus) are also occasionally kept as pets.
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 middle Pliocene, when there was again a period of speciation, mostly driven by the diversification of the African Graphiurus, which first appeared during the Pliocene, while the diversity of European dormice remained relatively low compared to their Miocene peak.
Several dormouse lineages experienced Island gigantism after being isolated on islands in the Mediterranean during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, the largest being the rabbit-sized Leithia of Sicily and Malta, the biggest ever.
Cladogram of most living and recently extinct dormice genera based on mitochondrial DNA after Petrova et al. 2024: Family Gliridae – Dormice
† indicates an extinct species.
Hibernation
One of the most notable characteristics of those dormice that live in temperate 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.
Relationship with humans
The Glis glis ( Glis glis) was considered a delicacy 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, a glirarium, to raise and fatten dormice for the table. It is still considered a delicacy in Slovenia and in several places in Croatia, namely Lika, and the islands of Hvar and Brač. Dormouse fat was believed by the Elizabethan era to induce sleep since the animal put on fat before hibernating.
Evolution
Dormice likely originated in Europe, with the earliest dormouse genus Eogliravus being known from the Early Eocene (around 48-41 million years ago) of France. Dormice were relatively uniform in the Eocene but considerably diversified during the Oligocene (34-23 million years ago). Their ability to hibernate may have emerged during this period. They reached an apex of diversity during the late Early Miocene (around 17 million years ago) when there were 18 genera and 36 species of dormice in Europe alone during this period. During this time span, dormice represented the dominant group of rodents in Europe.
Classification
The family consists of 29 extant species, in three subfamilies and (arguably) nine genera:
Fossil genera
Further reading
External links
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