Species group · Mammals
Dormouses
WAnimals has 2 species of dormouse, all in the family Gliridae.
- 2 species
- 1 family
- 47 countries
- 170 parks
- Weight
- 17 g – 150 g
- Length
- 6 cm – 19 cm
- Lifespan
- 9 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of dormouses on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 47 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
It spends most of its life asleep: it hibernates from October to April or May and, if the summer is cold and food is scarce, it also goes into torpor.
From Hazel Dormouse
Its specific epithet, avellanarius, comes from the hazel, its main source of fat before hibernating.
From Hazel Dormouse
You can tell it has eaten a hazelnut by the clean round hole it leaves in the shell: a squirrel would smash it and a vole would leave a ragged gap.
From Hazel Dormouse
In some populations it can hibernate for as much as 11 months a year, one of the longest hibernations known in any mammal.
From Fat Dormouse