Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
Common dormice may spend up to three quarters of their life asleep. They hibernate when food is scarce to conserve energy. In Britain, they are mainly found in the southern counties, although they are present in a few scattered locations in the Lake District and mid-Wales.
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Dormouse hibernation
Sleepy dormouse
The Nature of Britain
One of the few British mammals that truly hibernates can go for months without moving.
About the Dormouse
The Hazel Dormouse or Common Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus Muscardinus. 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 UK distribution of the hazel dormouse can be found on the National Biodivestity Network website here
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Scientific Classification
Family: Myoxidae
Genus: Muscardinus
Species: Hazel Dormouse (avellanarius)
Common Names
- Common dormouse
- Hazel dormouse
The Dormouse is
- Able to hibernate
- Arboreal
- Capable of torpor
- Helpless at birth
- Herbivorous
- Nocturnal
- Pollinator
- Territorial
- Viviparous
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
This region contains the following habitats:
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder
Conservation Status
The Dormouse is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Unknown
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Common dormouse - Muscardinus avellanarius (arkive.org)
- Muscardinus (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- The Mammal Society: fact file (abdn.ac.uk)
- IUCN Red List information (iucnredlist.org)
- Northumberland's dormouse conservation work (northumberlandbiodiversity.org.uk)
- Natural England: fact file (plantpress.com)
- Hazel Dormouse (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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