SQUIRRELS, BEAVERS, DORMICE, AND RATS 235 



the smaller beaver of to-day. Hitherto its remains have only- 

 been obtained from Norfolk (where it existed at the close of the 

 Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene periods), from 

 France, Germany, and Russia. 



Section: MYOMORFIIA. THE RAT-LIKE RODENTS 

 Family: GLIRIDyE. THE DORMICE 



Members of this group are all arboreal in habit, with long 

 tails more or less heavily furred, though sometimes the hair on 

 either side is long, coarse, sparse, and bristle-like. They are 

 distinguished from the rest of the rat group by having no 

 caecum, and by their intestinal peculiarities. The premolars are 

 one on each side, and the molars the usual three pairs. The 

 molars retain their roots, but the crowns are not tuberculous ; 

 they are marked with long zigzag, parallel folds ending in 

 loops, with flat surfaces. 



Muscardinus avellanarius. The Common Dormouse 



This charming little rodent bears a strong outward resemblance 

 to the squirrels, the likeness, however, being mainly superficial 

 and limited to the bushy tail, the reduction of the first finger 

 to a rudimentary form (while all five toes in the hind feet 

 are developed), and the nut-eating habits. The length of 

 the Dormouse is 3 in. from the tip of the nose to the root 

 of the tail, and the tail is about 2-^ in. long, and evenly 

 plumed with thick, short hairs. The body is round and 

 mouse-like. The ears are also round, with a slight in- 

 dication of a point. The ears are smooth and naked inside, 

 and covered with short hair on the back. The face is rather 

 squirrel-like, though the nose is a little more pointed. The eyes 

 are black and prominent. The colour is a light reddish-brown, 

 softening into yellow-white on the belly, with an outside patch 

 of white on the throat and breast. The young of the dormouse, 

 however, when first born are brownish-gray, with a reddish tinge 

 on the head and sides. They do not assume the colour of the 



