| Hazel Dormouse Temporal range: Middle Miocene - Recent |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Gliridae |
| Subfamily: | Leithiinae |
| Genus: | Muscardinus Kaup, 1829 |
| Species: | M. avellanarius |
| Binomial name | |
| Muscardinus avellanarius (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Geographic range | |
The Hazel Dormouse or Common Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus Muscardinus.[2] It is 6 to 9 centimetres (2.4 to 3.5 in) long with a tail of 5.7 to 7.5 centimetres (2.2 to 3.0 in). It weighs 17 to 20 grams (0.60 to 0.71 oz), although this increases to 30 to 40 grams (1.1 to 1.4 oz) just before hibernation. The Hazel Dormouse hibernates from October to April-May.
The Hazel Dormouse is native to northern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the only dormouse native to the British Isles (though the edible dormouse, Glis glis, has been accidentally introduced and now has an established population), and is therefore often referred to simply as the Dormouse in British sources.
The United Kingdom distribution of the Hazel Dormouse can be found on the National Biodivestity Network website. here
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The Hazel Dormouse has golden-brown fur and large black eyes. It is a nocturnal creature and spends most of its waking hours among the branches of trees looking for food. It will make long detours rather than come down to the ground and expose itself to danger.
In winter (early October), the Hazel Dormouse will hibernate in nests beneath the leaf litter on the forest floor. When it wakes up in spring (late April or early May), it builds woven nests of shredded honeysuckle bark, fresh leaves and grasses in the undergrowth. If the weather is cold and wet, and food scarce, it saves energy by going into torpor; it curls up into a ball and goes to sleep. The Hazel Dormouse, therefore, spends a large proportion of its life sleeping − either hibernating in winter or in torpor in summer.
Examination of hazelnuts may show a neat round hole in the shell. This indicates that it has been opened by a small rodent, e.g., the dormouse, wood mouse, or bank vole. Other animals such as squirrels or jays will either split the shell completely in half or make a jagged hole in it.
Further examination reveals that the inner rim of the hole has toothmarks which are at an angle to the hole for the dormouse. The toothmarks are parallel with rough marks on the nut surface for a wood mouse; the bank vole leaves parallel grooves with no rough marks.
It feeds on a wide variety of arboreal foods:
A variety of different food sources available at different times of year is required to ensure the Hazel Dormouse survives.
The Hazel Dormouse is a European Protected Species and is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.