Forest dormouse
Dryomys nitedula
— Where the name comes from
Dryomys is “oak mouse”, from drŷs, the oak, and mŷs — the same drŷs as the dryads, the nymphs of trees. Nitedula was in Latin the name of a small nocturnal rodent, perhaps related to niteo, “to shine”: the animal that gleams in the dark, probably from the reflection of its eyes in lantern light.
— Facts
- Group
- Mammals · Mammalia
- Order
- Rodents
- Habitat
- Mixed and coniferous woodland, dense scrub, wooded gardens
- Range
- From eastern Europe and north-eastern Italy to Central Asia
- Size
- 8–13 cm of body, tail 6–11 cm, 18–45 g
- Diet
- Insects, fruit, seeds, buds, eggs
- Lifespan
- 5 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It wears a black mask shorter than the garden dormouse’s, stopping at the eye.
- 02
It builds spherical nests among branches and readily uses birds’ nest boxes.
- 03
In Italy it lives almost only in the eastern Alps and is rare and local.
— What sets it apart
Genetic studies of recent years have found that under this one name there are probably several distinct species: the populations of the Caucasus, of Central Asia and of Europe separated millions of years ago and differ more than recognised species of other genera differ from one another. It is the fate of many small rodents — described in the 19th century by looking at the colour of the fur, and redrawn today by DNA into far more fragmented mosaics.
