THE SQUIRREL-TAILED AND GARDEN DORMICE 1279 



be produced as late as September, thus indicating the probability of there being two 

 litters in a year. Brehm, however, states that on the Continent the young are not 

 born till August. The young are born blind and naked, the usual number in a 

 litter being three or four. They are produced in a nest very similar to the one used 

 for the winter sleep, which is always placed at a height of a yard or so above 

 the ground. In Germany this species is known as the hazel mouse (haselmaus). 



THE SQUIRREL-TAILED AND GARDEN DORMICE 

 Genus Myoxus 



By many zoologists the two larger species of European dormice are each referred 

 to distinct genera, while certain African, representatives of the group constitute 



THE SQUIRREL-TAILED DORMOUSE AND GARDEN DORMOUSE. 

 (One-half natural size.) 



another pair of generic groups. Although clearly entitled to be separated generic- 

 ally from the common dormouse, all these species are, however, so intimately allied, 

 that it seems preferable to include the whole of them in the single genus Myoxus, 

 distinguished from Muscardinus by the simple structure of the stomach. 



Of the European species the largest is the squirrel -tailed dormouse 



(M.glis), the siebenschlafer of the Germans and the loir of the 



French, easily recognized by its thick, bushy tail (as shown in the 



left-hand figure of our illustration), in which the hairs are arranged in two rows. 



This species is further characterized by the large size of its cheek-teeth, in which 



the grinding surfaces of the crowns are flat, and the foldings of the enamel 



complex. The length of the head and body is a little over six, and that of the tail 



