Forest dormouse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Forest dormouse Fossil range: Middle Pleistocene - Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Gliridae Subfamily: Leithiinae Genus: Dryomys Thomas, 1906
Species
Dryomys laniger Dryomys niethammeri Dryomys nitedula Dryomys sichuanensis

The forest dormice, genus Dryomys, are a genus of dormouse found throughout much of Eurasia. They generally occur in forests or thickets.

Head and body is 8-13 cm, and tail length is 6-11 cm. The animals weigh 18-36 g.

[edit] Natural history

These dormice hibernate in hollows or in burrows, but nightly nesting is done in low branches or shrubs. They are quite at home in an arboreal setting. The animals are nocturnal.

They are omnivorous feeding on seeds, acorns, buds, invertegrates, eggs, and bird nestlings.

Forest dormice breed from March to December in the southern part of their range and May to August in the north. Gestation is 21-30 days and 2-5 young are born at a time.

[edit] Species

• Woolly Dormouse - Dryomys laniger
• Niethammer's Dormouse - Dryomys niethammeri
• Forest Dormouse - Dryomys nitedula
• Chinese Dormouse - Dryomys sichuanensis (sometimes placed in a separate genus, Chaetocauda)

[edit] References

• Duff, A. and A. Lawson. 2004. Mammals of the World A Checklist. New Haven, Yale University Press.
• Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.