Edible Dormouse

About the Edible Dormouse

The European edible dormouse (Glis glis), also known as the European dormouse or European fat dormouse, is a large dormouse and one of only two living species in the genus Glis, found in most of Europe and parts of western Asia. The common name comes from the Romans, who ate them as a delicacy.

The word dormouse comes from Middle English dormous, of uncertain origin, possibly from a dialectal *dor-, from Old Norse dár 'benumbed' and Middle English mous 'mouse'. The word is sometimes conjectured to come from an Anglo-Norman derivative of dormir 'to sleep', with the second element mistaken for mouse, but no such Anglo-Norman term is known to have existed.

The Latin word glis, which is the origin of the scientific name, is from the Proto-Indo-European root *gl̥h₁éys 'weasel, mouse', related to Sanskrit गिरि girí 'mouse' and Ancient Greek γαλέη galéē 'weasel'. The European edible dormouse is the largest of all extant dormice, being around 14 to 19 cm (5.5 to 7.5 in) in head-body length, plus an 11- to 13-cm-long tail. It normally weighs from 120 to 150 g (4.2 to 5.3 oz), but may almost double in weight immediately prior to hibernation. It has a generally... Wikipedia →