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Hazel, or common dormouse - MUSCARDINUS AVELLANARIUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Dormouse": "Dormouse" is a misnomer from the French word "dormir," to sleep. These nocturnal animals are not in the mouse family, Muridae. They are often found sleeping during the day, hence their name.
Location: Central Europe.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Mountains and hilly regions; in woodlands, coniferous forests, and among mountain pine.
Description: The coat is tawny on the back, yellowish underneath, and the throat is white. The tail is covered with short dense tawny fur. The eyes are black, and the ears small. The front legs are shorter than the hind legs, all four feet with four toes, and all having short claws. These animals reach a little over six inches long, with the tail comprising three of those inches. It weighs about an ounce and a half.
Behavior: This tiny dormouse feeds mainly on hazelnuts, and occasionally on insects, birds eggs, and nestlings. It is mainly nocturnal and sleeps through the day. It is solitary, or found in family groups of female and young. It hibernates from October or November until the latter half of April. It lives in a spherical nest made of grasses, moss, feathers, and hair, located on the ground hidden in the undergrowth, or in bushes as high as six feet up.
Reproduction: The female delivers one litter a year. After a four-week gestation period, she delivers three to seven young, which become independent when they are about 35 days old.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Dormouse Index to study other
dormice.
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