Garden dormouse (genus)
| Garden sleeper | ||||||||||||
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Garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus ) |
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| Eliomys | ||||||||||||
| Wagner , 1840 |
Garden dormice ( Eliomys ) are a genus of mammals in the Bilche family with three species that are found in Europe , North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula .
features
The medium-sized dormice are mainly characterized by a conspicuous facial pattern, which consists of a more or less distinct dark eye mask that extends as a dark band below the ears down to the shoulder and contrasts with the light cheeks. In addition, there is a noticeable two-tone tail, where the tip of the tail usually has a different color than the rest of the tail. The skull is characterized by a long and narrow snout, further characteristics include the structure of the skull bones, the pseudo-myomorphic masticatory muscles and the structure of the teeth.
distribution
The species of the garden dormouse are distributed in northern Africa, Europe and the Middle East, whereby the distribution areas do not overlap. The garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus ) lives in a comparatively large area that includes large parts of Europe. The Tunisian garden dormouse ( Eliomys munbyanus ) lives in the Maghreb region in northern Africa on the Mediterranean and North African Atlantic coast from Morocco to Libya . The distribution area of the spoonbill ( Eliomys melanurus ) extends from the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Africa in Libya and Egypt over the Sinai Peninsula to Turkey and Iraq .
Way of life
The garden sleepers live primarily in trees and bushes and are nocturnal. They are good climbers and feed omnivorously on fruits, seeds, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. At low temperatures, the European garden dormouse hibernates , the other two species only hibernate .
Systematics
The garden dormouse is a genus of dormouse (Gliridae) that occurs in three species. The first scientific description comes from Johann Andreas Wagner from 1840, who described it as a nomenclatory type based on the spoonbill ( Eliomys melanurus ) that he first described in the previous year . Within the family, the genus belongs to the subfamily Leithiinae with the genus tree sleepers ( Dryomys ) as a sister group . The close relationship is confirmed on the basis of features of the teeth and the skull as well as on the basis of molecular biological data.
The three species of the genus are:
- Garden dormouse ( Eliomys quercinus ), has numerous geographically isolated occurrences in Europe.
- Asian Garden Dormouse , Orient sleeper or Desert dormouse ( Eliomys melanurus ), occupied several areas of northern Libya to the southern Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula.
- Tunisian garden dormouse ( Eliomys munbyanus ), occurs in northwestern and northern Africa.
The spoonbill and the Tunisian garden dormouse were at times regarded as subspecies of the garden dormouse. In addition to these, several fossil species have been described.
Hazard and protection
In the last few decades, the garden dormouse in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe has seen considerable population declines, area reductions and regional extinction. The reasons for this are unclear. He is therefore listed by the IUCN in the warning list ( near threatened ). The other two types are considered safe ( least concern ).
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Mary Ellen Holden: Genus Eliomys, Garden Dormice. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa. Volume 3: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 104-105.
- ↑ a b Eliomys. In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
- ^ Mary Ellen Holden-Musser, R. Juškaitis, GM Musser: Genus Myomimus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 6: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 , pp. 881-883.
literature
- Mary Ellen Holden-Musser, R. Juškaitis, GM Musser: Genus Myomimus. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 6: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 , pp. 881-883.
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 ( online ).
- Mary Ellen Holden : Genus Eliomys, Garden Dormice. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold, Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa. Volume 3: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 104 ff.
