The dental pattern of the dormice Dryomys, Myomimus, Microdyromys and Peridyromys

Abstract

Several dental elements in associations of the Recent dormouse Dryomys nitedula appear to show geographical variation from Austria to Afghanistan. The insight in this variation enables a better taxonomical evaluation of the dental pattern and sizes in our ample material of the fossil dormice Microdyromys (Middle Oligocene - Middle Miocene), Myomimus (Middle Miocene - Recent) and Peridyromys (Late Oligocene - Middle Miocene) from Europe and the Near East. It appears that successive associations of Microdyromys and of Peridyromys show no consistent change through time, but in Myomimus a trend is obvious. The biostratigraphic value of the small glirids has been overestimated in previous works. The phylogenetic relations of the genera and subfamilies of the Gliridae are reconstructed and the new subfamily Myomiminae is defined.