Dormouse

{{Short description|Family of rodents}} {{redirect|Door mouse|the film|Door Mouse}} {{About||Lewis Carroll's fictional character|The Dormouse}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Dormice | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Eocene | Recent}} | image = Graphiurus_spec_-murinus-1.jpg | image_caption = African dormouse, ''Graphiurus'' sp. | taxon = Gliridae | authority = Muirhead in Brewster, 1819<ref>Davis Brewster, ed. ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'', 1819.</ref> | type_genus = ''Glis'' | type_genus_authority = Brisson, 1762 | subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies and genera | subdivision = Graphiurinae *''Graphiurus'' Leithiinae *''Chaetocauda'' *''Dryomys'' *''Eliomys'' *†''Hypnomys'' *†''Leithia'' *''Muscardinus'' *''Myomimus'' *''Selevinia'' Glirinae *''Glirulus'' *''Glis'' | range_map = File:Gliridae distribution.png | range_map_caption = Gliridae distribution }}

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.<ref name="The Mammal Society">{{cite web | title=Species – Dormouse | website=The Mammal Society | url=http://www.mammal.org.uk/discover-mammals/species-dormouse/ | access-date=March 8, 2018 | archive-date=March 8, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308231407/http://www.mammal.org.uk/discover-mammals/species-dormouse/ }}</ref> There are nine genera and 28 living species of dormice, with half of living species belonging to the African genus ''Graphiurus.''<ref name="Lu-2021" />

==Etymology== The word dormouse comes from Middle English {{lang|enm|dormous}}, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal element ''*dor-'', from Old Norse {{lang|non|dár}} {{gloss|benumbed}} and Middle English {{lang|enm|mous}} {{gloss|mouse}}.

The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of {{lang|xno|dormir}} {{gloss|to sleep}}, with the second element mistaken for ''mouse'', but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.<ref>Random House Dictionary, dormouse.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Wedgwood |first=Hensleigh |author-link=Hensleigh Wedgwood |year=1855 |title=On false etymologies |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |issue=6 |page=66 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3924121;view=1up;seq=78 }}</ref>

The Latin noun {{lang|la|glīs}}, which is the origin of the scientific name, descends from the Proto-Indo-European noun ''*gl̥h₁éys'' {{gloss|weasel, mouse}}, and is related to Sanskrit {{lang|sa|गिरि}} ({{Transliteration|sa|girí}}) {{gloss|mouse}} and Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|γαλέη}} ({{Transliteration|grc|galéē}}) {{gloss|weasel}}.

==Characteristics== Dormice are small rodents, with body lengths between {{convert|6|and|19|cm|abbr=on}}, and weight between {{convert|15|and|180|g|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Juškaitis |first= R.|date= 2001|title= Weight changes of the common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius L.) during the year in Lithuania|url=https://ptes.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Juskaitis-2001-Weight-changes-of-common-dormouse.pdf |journal=Trakya University Journal of Scientific Research}}</ref> They are generally mouse-like in appearance, but with furred tails. They are largely arboreal, agile, and well-adapted to climbing. Most species are nocturnal. Dormice have an excellent sense of hearing and signal each other with a variety of vocalisations.<ref name=EoM>{{cite book|editor= Macdonald, D.|author= Baudoin, Claude|year= 1984|title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location= New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/678 678–680]|isbn= 978-0-87196-871-5|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/678}}</ref>

Dormice are omnivorous, 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 dental formula is similar to that of squirrels, although they often lack premolars:{{dentition2|1.0.0–1.3|1.0.0–1.3}}

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.<ref name=EoM/>

===Hibernation=== thumb|The little dormouse, sleeping in the winter nest. 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.<ref name=EoM/>

==Relationship with humans== The European edible dormouse (''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.<ref name=EoM/> It is still considered a delicacy in Slovenia and in several places in Croatia, namely Lika, and the islands of Hvar and Brač.<ref>{{cite web| last= Freedman| first= Paul| url= http://www.gourmet.com/food/2008/03/dormouse |title= Meals that Time Forgot| website= Gourmet.com | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080311011527/http://www.gourmet.com/food/2008/03/dormouse |date= March 6, 2008 |archive-date=March 11, 2008|access-date= February 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.otok-hvar.com/en/news/fifth-puhijada-dol-hvar-695| title= Fifth Puhijada| first= Igor| last= Kolumbić| website= otok-hvar.com| publisher= Offero Prima d.o.o.| location= Hvar| access-date= February 13, 2017| archive-date= March 7, 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210307001427/http://www.otok-hvar.com/en/news/fifth-puhijada-dol-hvar-695}}</ref> Dormouse fat was believed by the Elizabethans to induce sleep since the animal put on fat before hibernating.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7967968.stm |title= 10 ways to get a really good sleep| publisher= BBC | date= 27 March 2009| access-date= February 13, 2017}}</ref>

In more recent years,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/efexotics/africandormouse.html|title=www.oocities.org/efexotics/africandormouse.html|date=2009|quote=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).}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://crittery.co.uk/species-list/african-pygmy-dormice|title=Crittery Exotics|website=crittery.co.uk}}</ref> Asian garden dormice (''Eliomys melanurus'') are also occasionally kept as pets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://crittery.co.uk/species-list/asian-garden-dormice|title=Crittery Exotics|website=crittery.co.uk}}</ref>

==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<ref name="Li-2023">{{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Zhaoyu |last2=Mörs |first2=Thomas |date=June 2023 |title=Dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae) from the Middle Miocene of Hambach 6C, Northwest Germany |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0016699523000414 |journal=Geobios |language=en |volume=78 |pages=15–31 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2023.05.002}}</ref>) when there were 18 genera and 36 species of dormice in Europe alone during this period.<ref name="Lu-2021" /> During this time span, dormice represented the dominant group of rodents in Europe.<ref name="Li-2023" />

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.<ref name="Lu-2021">{{Cite journal |last=Lu |first=Xiaoyu |last2=Costeur |first2=Loïc |last3=Hugueney |first3=Marguerite |last4=Maridet |first4=Olivier |date=2021-02-01 |title=New data on early Oligocene dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae) from southern Europe: phylogeny and diversification of the family |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2021.1888814 |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |language=en |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=169–189 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2021.1888814 |issn=1477-2019}}</ref>

Several dormouse lineages experienced insular 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.<ref name="Hennekam-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Hennekam |first1=Jesse J. |last2=Benson |first2=Roger B. J. |last3=Herridge |first3=Victoria L. |last4=Jeffery |first4=Nathan |last5=Torres-Roig |first5=Enric |last6=Alcover |first6=Josep Antoni |last7=Cox |first7=Philip G. |date=2020-11-11 |title=Morphological divergence in giant fossil dormice |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=287 |issue=1938 |article-number=20202085 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2020.2085 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=7735280 |pmid=33143584}}</ref>

==Classification== {{further|List of glirids}} The family consists of 29 extant species, in three subfamilies and (arguably) nine genera:

Cladogram of most living and recently extinct dormice genera based on mitochondrial DNA after Petrova et al. 2024:<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Petrova |first1=Tatyana V. |last2=Panitsina |first2=Valentina A. |last3=Bodrov |first3=Semyon Yu. |last4=Abramson |first4=Natalia I. |date=2024-09-27 |title=The mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered enigmatic Kazakhstani endemic Selevinia betpakdalaensis (Rodentia: Gliridae) and its phylogenetic relationships with other dormouse species |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-73703-2 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=11436627 |pmid=39333293}}</ref>{{clade|{{clade |1={{clade |label1=Graphiurinae |1=''Graphiurus'' (African dormice) |label2=Glirinae |2={{clade |1=''Glirulus'' (Japanese dormouse) |2=''Glis'' (edible dormice) }}}} |label2=Leithiinae |2={{clade |1=''Muscardinus'' (hazel dormouse) |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Myomimus'' (mouse-tailed dormice) |2=''Selevinia'' (desert dormouse) }} |2={{clade |1=''Dryomys'' (woolly and forest dormice) |2={{clade |1=''Eliomys'' (garden dormice) |2={{extinct}}''Hypnomys'' (Balearic dormice) }}}}}}}}}}|label1=Gliridae (dormice)}}'''Family Gliridae''' – Dormice * '''Subfamily Glirinae''' ** Genus ''Glirulus'' *** Japanese dormouse, ''Glirulus japonicus'' ** Genus ''Glis'' *** European edible dormouse, ''Glis glis'' ***Iranian edible dormouse, ''Glis persicus'' * '''Subfamily Graphiurinae''' ** Genus ''Graphiurus'', African dormice *** Angolan African dormouse, ''Graphiurus angolensis'' *** Christy's dormouse, ''Graphiurus christyi'' *** Walter Verheyen's African dormouse, ''Graphiurus walterverheyeni'' <ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1206/582-9.1 |title=Chapter 9. Systematic Revision of Sub-Saharan African Dormice (Rodentia: Gliridae: ''Graphiurus'') Part II: Description of a New Species of ''Graphiurus'' from the Central Congo Basin, Including Morphological and Ecological Niche Comparisons with ''G. crassicaudatus'' and ''G. lorraineus''|journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History|volume= 331|pages=314–355|year= 2009|author1=Holden, Mary Ellen |author2=Levine, Rebecca S |s2cid=85409018 }}</ref> *** Jentink's dormouse, ''Graphiurus crassicaudatus'' *** Johnston's African dormouse, ''Graphiurus johnstoni'' *** Kellen's dormouse, ''Graphiurus kelleni'' *** Lorrain dormouse, ''Graphiurus lorraineus'' *** Monard's dormouse, ''Graphiurus monardi'' *** Nagtglas's African dormouse, ''Graphiurus nagtglasii'' *** Rock dormouse, ''Graphiurus platyops'' *** Silent dormouse, ''Graphiurus surdus'' *** Small-eared dormouse, ''Graphiurus microtis'' *** Spectacled dormouse, ''Graphiurus ocularis'' *** Stone dormouse, ''Graphiurus rupicola'' *** Woodland dormouse, ''Graphiurus murinus'' * '''Subfamily Leithiinae''' ** Genus ''Chaetocauda'' *** Chinese dormouse, ''Chaetocauda sichuanensis'' ** Genus ''Dryomys'' *** Balochistan forest dormouse, ''Dryomys niethammeri'' *** Forest dormouse, ''Dryomys nitedula'' *** Woolly dormouse, ''Dryomys laniger'' ** Genus ''Eliomys'', garden dormice ***Asian garden dormouse, ''Eliomys melanurus'' *** Garden dormouse, ''Eliomys quercinus''240px|thumb *** Maghreb garden dormouse, ''Eliomys munbyanus'' ** Genus ''Hypnomys''† (Balearic dormouse) *** Majorcan giant dormouse, ''Hypnomys morphaeus''† *** Minorcan giant dormouse, ''Hypnomys mahonensis''† ** Genus ''Leithia''† *** ''Leithia cartei''† *** Maltese giant dormouse, ''Leithia melitensis''† ** Genus ''Muscardinus'' *** Hazel dormouse, ''Muscardinus avellanarius'' ** Genus ''Myomimus'', mouse-tailed dormice *** Masked mouse-tailed dormouse, ''Myomimus personatus'' *** Roach's mouse-tailed dormouse, ''Myomimus roachi'' *** Setzer's mouse-tailed dormouse, ''Myomimus setzeri'' ** Genus ''Selevinia'' *** Desert dormouse, ''Selevinia betpakdalaensis'' **

† indicates an extinct species.

===Fossil genera=== * ''Eogliravus'' Hartenberger, 1971 - Eocene * ''Bransatoglis'' Hugueney, 1967 - Oligocene<ref name=Freudenthal2007>{{cite journal |last1= Freudenthal |first1= M. |last2= Martín-Suárez |first2= E. |date= 2007 |title= Revision of the subfamily Bransatoglirinae (Gliridae, Rodentia, Mammalia) |journal= Scripta Geologica |volume= 135 |pages= 241-274 |url= https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/314199 |access-date= 22 January 2026}}</ref> * ''Butseloglis'' Vianey-Liaud, 2003 - Oligocene<ref name=Freudenthal2007/> * ''Glamys'' Vianey-Liaud, 1989 - Oligocene * ''Moissenetia'' Hugueney & Adrover, 1995 - Oligocene<ref name=Lu2021/> * ''Oligodyromys'' Bahlo, 1975 - Oligocene<ref name=Freudenthal2007/> * ''Paraglis'' Baudelot, 1970 - Oligocene<ref name=Freudenthal2007/> * ''Glirudinus'' de Bruijn, 1966 - Oligocene to Miocene<ref name= Li2023>{{cite journal |last1= Li |first1= Z.|last2= Mörs |first2= T. |date= June 2023 |title= Dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae) from the Middle Miocene of Hambach 6C, Northwest Germany |journal= Geobios |volume= 78 |pages= 15-31 |doi= 10.1016/j.geobios.2023.05.002}}</ref> * ''Microdyromys'' de Bruijn, 1966 - Oligocene to Miocene<ref name= GarciaParedes2010>{{cite journal |last1= García-Peredes |first1= I. |last2= Peláez-Campomanes |first2= P. |last3= Ángeles Álvarez-Sierra |first3= M.|date= September 2010 |title= ''Microdyromys remmerti'', sp. nov., a new Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Aragonian type area (Miocene, Calatayud-Montalbán basin, Spain) |journal= Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume= 30 |issue= 5 |pages= 1594-1609 |doi= 10.1080/02724634.2010.501453}}</ref> * ''Peridyromys'' Stehlin & Schaub, 1951 - Oligocene to Miocene<ref name=Dalmasso2022/> * ''Vasseuromys'' Baudelot & de Bonis, 1966 - Oligocene to Miocene<ref name= Sinitsa2018>{{cite journal |last1= Sinitsa |first1= M.V. |last2= Nesin |first2= V.A. |date= March 2018 |title= Systematics and phylogeny of Vasseuromys (Mammalia, Rodentia, Gliridae) with a description of a new species from the late Miocene of eastern Europe |journal= Palaeontology |volume= 61 |issue= 5 |pages= 679-701 |doi= 10.1111/pala.12359}}</ref> * ''Carbomys'' Mein & Adrover, 1982 - Miocene<ref name=Lu2021/> * ''Graphiurops'' Bachmayer & Wilson, 1980 - Miocene<ref name= Lu2021 >{{cite journal |last1= Lu |first1= X. |last2= Costeur |first2= L. |display-authors=etal |date= February 2021 |title= New data on early Oligocene dormice (Rodentia, Gliridae) from southern Europe: phylogeny and diversification of the family |journal= Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume= 19 |issue= 3 |pages= 169-189 |doi= 10.1080/14772019.2021.1888814}}</ref> * ''Miodyromys'' Kretzoi, 1943 - Early Miocene<ref name=Lu2021/> * ''Praearmantomys'' de Bruijn, 1966 - Early Miocene<ref name= RuizSanchez2012/> * ''Pseudodryomys'' de Bruijn, 1966 - Early Miocene<ref name= Dalmasso2022>{{cite journal |last1= Dalmasso |first1= A. |last2= Paláez-Campomanes |first2= P. |last3= López-Antoñanzas |first3= R. |date= August 2022 |title= Relative performance of Bayesian morphological clock and parsimony methods for phylogenetic reconstructions: Insights from the case of Myomiminae and Dryomyinae glirid rodents |journal= Cladistics |volume= 38 |issue= 6 |pages= 702-710 |doi= 10.1111/cla.12516}}</ref> * ''Simplomys'' García-Paredes ''et al.'', 2009 - Early Miocene<ref name=Lu2021/> * ''Seorsumuscardinus'' de Bruijn 1998 - Early Miocene * ''Armantomys'' de Bruijn, 1966 - Early to Middle Miocene<ref name= RuizSanchez2012>{{cite journal |last1= Ruiz-Sánchez |first1= F.J. |last2= Murelaga |first2= X. |display-authors=etal |date= September 2012 |title= Hypsodont Myomiminae (Gliridae, Rodentia) from five new localities in the Lower Miocene Tudela Formation (Bardenas Reales, Ebro Basin, Spain) and their bearing on the age of the Agenian-Ramblian boundary |journal= Geodiversitas |volume= 34 |issue= 3 |pages= 645-663 |doi= 10.5252/g2012n3a10}}</ref> * ''Prodryomys'' Mayr, 1979 - Early to Middle Miocene<ref name=Lu2021/> * ''Tempestia'' van de Weerd, 1976 - Middle Miocene<ref name=Dalmasso2022/> * ''Ramys'' García-Moreno & Lopez-Martínez,1986 - Late Miocene<ref name=Lu2021/>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite book |author=Holden, M. E. |editor=Wilson, D. E. |editor2=Reeder, D. M. |section=Family Gliridae |pages=819–841 |title=Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference |publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press|location= Baltimore|date= 2005}}

==External links== {{Commons}} * {{cite web|website=The PiedPiper|url=http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1k.htm |title=Dormice }} * {{cite news|work=BBC Wales Nature|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/nature/sites/species/mammals/dormouse.shtml |title=Dormouse}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040122040057/http://www.glirarium.org/ Glirarium.org] {{in lang|en|de}}

Category:Dormice Category:Sciuromorpha Category:Natural Monuments of Japan Category:Extant Eocene first appearances