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Myoxidae

(Family)

Overview

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The dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae. (This family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists.) Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation. Because only one species of dormouse is native to the British Isles, in everyday English usage dormouse usually refers to one species (the hazel dormouse) as well as to the family as a whole.

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Dormice are small for rodents, with body lengths between 6 and 19 cm (2.4 and 7.5 in), and weights between 15 and 200 g (0.53 and 7.1 oz). They are generally mouse-like in appearance, but with furred, rather than scaly tails. They are largely but not exclusively 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 vocalisat ions.[1]

Dormice are omnivorous, typically feeding on fruits, berries, flowers, nuts and insects. 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:

Dormice breed once or maybe twice a year, producing litters with an average of four young after a gestation period of 21?32 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.[1]

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 remains sufficiently cool, 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.[1]

Their name is based on this trait; it comes from Anglo-Norman dormeus, which means "sleepy (one)"; the word was later altered by folk etymology to resemble the word "mouse". The sleepy behaviour of the dormouse character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland also attests to this trait.

Relationship with humans

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The edible dormouse was considered a delicacy in ancient Rome, either as a savoury appetizer or as a dessert (dipped in honey and poppy seeds). T he Romans used a special kind of enclosure, a glirarium to rear dormice for the table.[1] Dormice to this day are hunted and eaten in Slovenia.[2] Dormouse fat was used by the Elizabethans to induce sleep.[3]

Evolution

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Gliridae are one of the oldest extant rodent families, with a fossil record dating back to the early Eocene. As currently understood, they descended in Europe from early Paleogene ischyromyids such as Microparamys (Sparnacomys) chandoni. The early and middle Eocene genus Eogliravus represents the earliest and most primitive glirid taxon; the oldest species, Eogliravus wildi, is known from isolated teeth from the early Eocene of France and a complete specimen of the early middle Eocene of the Messel pit in Germany.[4] They appear in Africa in the upper Miocene and only relatively recently in Asia. Many types of extinct dormouse species have been identified. During the Pleistocene, giant dormice the size of large rats, such as Leithia melitensis, lived on the islands of Malta and Sicily.[5]

Classification

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The family consists of 29 living species, in three subfamilies and (arguably) 9 genera:

FAMILY GLIRIDAE ? Dormice

Fossil species

ven longer if the weather remains sufficiently cool, 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.[1]

Their name is based on this trait; it comes from Anglo-Norman dormeus, which means "sleepy (one)"; the word was later altered by folk etymology to resemble the word "mouse". The sleepy behaviour of the dormouse character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland also attests to this trait.

Relationship with humans

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The edible dormouse 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 rear dormice for the table.[1] Dormice to this day are hunted and eaten in Slovenia.[2] Dormouse fat was used by the Elizabethans to induce sleep.[3]

Evolution

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Gliridae are one of the oldest extant rodent families, with a fossil record dating back to the early Eocene. As currently understood, they descended in Europe from early Paleogene ischyromyids such as Microparamys (Sparnacomys) chandoni. The early and middle Eocene genus Eogliravus represents the earliest and most primitive glirid taxon; the oldest species, Eogliravus wildi, is known from isolated teeth from the early Eocene of France and a complete specimen of the early middle Eocene of the Messel pit in Germany.[4] They appear in Africa in the upper Miocene and only relatively recently in Asia. Many types of extinct dormouse species have been identified. During the Pleistocene, giant dormice the size of large rats, such as Leithia melitensis, lived on the islands of Malta and Sicily.[5]

Classification

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The family consists of 29 living species, in three subfamilies and (arguably) 9 genera:

FAMILY GLIRIDAE ? Dormice

Fossil species

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Baudoin, Claude (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 678?680. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. 
  2. ^ Freedman, Paul. "Meals that Time Forgot", gourmet.com, March 2008.
  3. ^ "10 ways to get a really good sl eep", BBC News Magazine, 27 March 2009.
  4. ^ Storch, G. & Seiffert, C. (2007). "Extraordinarily preserved specimen of the oldest known glirid from the middle Eocene of Messel (Rodentia)". Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 27 (1): 189?194. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[189:EPSOTO]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. 
  5. ^ Savage, RJG; Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. New York: Facts on File. pp. 119. ISBN 0-8160-1194-X. 
  6. ^ "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", Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 331 :314?355. 2009.

External links

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Taxonomy

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The Family Myoxidae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

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Dyromys

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia.[1] [more]

Myoxus

The edible dormouse or fat dormouse (Glis glis) is a large dormouse and the only living species in the genus Glis. [more]

At least 11 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Myoxus.

More info about the Genus Myoxus may be found here.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Baudoin, Claude (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 678?680. ISBN 0-87196-871-1. 
  2. ^ Freedman, Paul. "Meals that Time Forgot", gourmet.com, March 2008.
  3. ^ "10 ways to get a really good sleep", BBC News Magazine, 27 March 2009.
  4. ^ Storch, G. & Seiffert, C. (2007). "Extraordinarily pre served specimen of the oldest known glirid from the middle Eocene of Messel (Rodentia)". Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology 27 (1): 189?194. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[189:EPSOTO]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. 
  5. ^ Savage, RJG; Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. New York: Facts on File. pp. 119. ISBN 0-8160-1194-X. 
  6. ^ "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", Bulletin of the American M useum of Natural History 331 :314?355. 2009.

Footnotes

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  1. http://www.ubio.org/browser/details.php?namebankID=112682

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:36:46