Dormice are a type of rodent indigenous to the eastern hemisphere comprising the family Gliridae. (This family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists.) They are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia.
They are smallish for rodents, with a typical length of about 2-3" (70 mm). Dormice typically feed on fruits, berries, flowers, nuts and insects. They are largely but not exclusively arboreal and nocturnal animals.
One of the most notable characteristics of those dormice which live in temperate zones is hibernation. Dormice can hibernate six months out of the year, or even longer if the weather remains sufficiently cool, sometimes waking for brief periods to eat food they had previously stored nearby. It is from this trait that they got their name, which is most likely a combination of the word "mouse" and either Middle French dormir or Anglo-Norman dormeus, both of which mean "sleep." It is this quality which is behind the sleepy behaviour of the Dormouse character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Dormice breed once or twice a year, with four being the typical size of a litter. They can live for as long as five years.
Currently, the earliest fossil evidence of dormouse species in Europe is placed in the middle Eocene. They appear in Africa in the upper Miocene and only relatively recently in Asia. Many types of extinct dormouse species have been identified. In the current (Holocene) epoch, the family consists of 28 species, in three subfamilies and (arguably) 9 genera:
Subfamily Graphiurinae
Genus Graphiurus (African Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus christyi (Christy's Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus crassicaudatus (Jentink's Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus hueti (Huet's 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 ocularis (Spectacled Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus olga (Olga's Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus parvus (Savanna Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus platyops (Rock Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus rupicola (Stone Dormouse)
Species Graphiurus surdus (Silent Dormouse)
Subfamily Leithiinae
Genus Dryomys
Species Dryomys laniger (Woolly Dormouse)
Species Dryomys nitedula (Forest Dormouse)
Species Dryomys sichuanensis (Chinese Dormouse)
Genus Eliomys (Garden Dormouse)
Species Eliomys melanurus (Asian Garden Dormouse)
Species Eliomys quercinus (Garden Dormouse)
Genus Hypnomys (Balearic Dormouse - extinct)
Species Hypnomys morphaeus
Species Hypnomys mahonensis
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)
Dormice from the Forestry Commission’s Haldon Forest Park, near Exeter, are the stars of a report by BBC TV presenter Kate Humble, to be broadcast on tonight’s
She is pictured here holding one of the dormice discovered during a regular check of one of the 50 nesting boxes installed and monitored by Forestry Commission Ranger Ian Parsons at Haldon Forest Park – this nest contained not only an adult, but her three offspring too.
Dormice are nocturnal, and being excellent climbers spend most of their time in the tree canopy, feeding on seeds, nuts, flowers, fruits and insects.
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