(5) Geomyidae, Pouched Rats.
(6) Heteromyidae, Kangaroo Rats.
(7) Dipodidae, Jerboas.
(8) Pedetidae.
The Gliridae have no caecum, so usual in the Rodentia. It is true that all the genera have not been dissected, but it is known that in the true Dormice, as well as in the genus Platacanthomys, a caecum is absent.
Apart from these few exceptions the Mouse-like Rodents all possess a caecum, though it is often not very large. They are all smallish animals, and are modified to a great variety of habit and habitat. There are burrowing, swimming, and climbing forms. The group is universal in range, even including the Australian region, in which they are the only Rodents.
Fam. 1. Gliridae.—This family, also called Myoxidae,[1] includes the Dormice, and is entirely an Old-World family, absent only from the Malagasy region. Its most important differential character is the total absence of the caecum and of any sharp boundary between the small and large intestine. The molars are usually four. The eyes and ears are well developed.
The genus Muscardinus includes only the Common Dormouse, M. arellanarius. This small creature, 3 inches long with a tail of 2½ inches, is, of course, a well-known inhabitant of this country. It is also found all over Europe. It is not particularly abundant in this country, and a good specimen is said to be worth half a guinea. As the specific name denotes, it lives largely on hazel nuts; but it will also suck eggs and devour insects. The animal makes a "nest" in the form of a hollow ball. Its hibernation is well known, and has also given rise to the German name ("Schläfer") of the group. It was well known to Aristotle, who gave or adopted the name Ἐλειὸς for the animal. Its winter sleep—suggestive of death—and its revivification in the spring gave the Bishop of Salamis, Epiphanius, an argument for the resurrection of man. The fur was reckoned in Pliny's time a remedy for paralysis and also for disease of the ears.
The genus Myoxus includes also but a single species, M. glis, the so-called "Fat Dormouse" of the Continent. It has no
- ↑ Reuvens, "Die Myoxidae oder Schläfer," Leyden, 1890, allows but one genus, Myoxus, the other genera adopted here being termed subgenera.
