Eliomys morpheus Bate, 1918
Majorcan giant doormouse
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Hypnomys morphaeus Bate, 1918; Hypnomys morpheus Bate, 1918
Conservation Status
Extinct
Last record: 5890 ± 35 yBP (4840–4690 cal. BC) (Bover & Alcover, 2007)
Distribution
Mallorca & Majorca, Spain
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Material in the Vertebrate Collection ‘Museu de la Naturalesa de les Illes Balears’ (MNIB, Palma de Mallorca) (all unaccessioned)
2 femurs
1 tibia
1 pelvis
Specimens examined by (Hautier et al. 2009)
Mandible outline
IMEDEA 64321, IMEDEA 64324, IMEDEA 63904, IMEDEA 63901, IMEDEA 6390, IMEDEA 64332, IMEDEA 64330, IMEDEA 64338, IMEDEA 64335, IMEDEA 63977, IMEDEA 63840, IMEDEA 63800, IMEDEA 63798, IMEDEA 63802, IMEDEA 63801, IMEDEA 63705, IMEDEA 64013, IMEDEA 64154, IMEDEA 64158, IMEDEA 64141, IMEDEA 64144, IMEDEA 64148, IMEDEA 63305, IMEDEA 63301, IMEDEA 64462, IMEDEA 64105, IMEDEA 64155
Microwear analysis
IMEDEA 63020, IMEDEA 63729, IMEDEA 63833, IMEDEA 63837, IMEDEA 63839, IMEDEA 63840, IMEDEA 63883, IMEDEA 63904, IMEDEA 63977, IMEDEA 63979, IMEDEA 64019, IMEDEA 64020, IMEDEA 64052, IMEDEA 64141, IMEDEA 64155, IMEDEA 64157, IMEDEA 64247, IMEDEA 64294, IMEDEA 64296, IMEDEA 64326, IMEDEA 64466, IMEDEA 63903, IMEDEA L8
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Bate, D. M. A. (1918), On a new Genus of Extinct, Muscardine Rodent from the Balearic Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 88: 209-222. [Abstract]
Other references:
Alcover, Josep Antoni et al. (1998). Mammal Species of the World: Additional Data on Insular Mammals. American Museum Novitates 3248, 29 pp., 1 table.
Alcover, J. A. and Roca, L. (1975). Noves aportacions al coneixement del gènere Hypnomys Bate 1918 i els seus jaciments. Speleon. 22: 81-102.
Agustí, Jordi, Espresate, Juli and Piñero, Pedro. (2021). Dental Variation in the Endemic Dormouse Hypnomys Bate 1918 and its Implications for the Palaeogeographic Evolution of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) during the late Neogene-Quaternary. Historical Biology 33(12): 3152-3165. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2020.1852557
Bover, Pere and Alcover, Josep Antoni. (2007). Extinction of the autochthonous small mammals of Mallorca (Gymnesic Islands, Western Mediterranean) and its ecological consequences. Journal of Biogeography 35(6): 1112-1122.
Pere Bover, Josep A. Alcover, Jacques J. Michaux, Lionel Hautier, and Rainer Hutterer. (2010). Body Shape and Life Style of the Extinct Balearic Dormouse Hypnomys (Rodentia, Gliridae): New Evidence from the Study of Associated Skeletons. PLoS One 5(12): e15817.
Bover, Pere et al. (2019). Ancient DNA from an extinct Mediterranean micromammal—Hypnomys morpheus (Rodentia: Gliridae)—Provides insight into the biogeographic history of insular dormice. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12343 [Abstract]
Cardona, Josep Quintana and Moncunill-Solé, Blanca. (2014). Reconsidering locomotor habits and life style of the Balearic insular giant rodent Hypnomys Bate, 1918 from the allometry of the limb long bones / Nouveau regard sur les modes de locomotion et le style de vie du rongeur insulaire géant des Baléares, Hypnomys Bate, 1918 à partir de l’examen des os longs de membres. Comptes Rendus Palevol 13(4): 297-306. [Abstract]
Hautier, Lionel; Bover, Pere; Alcover, Josep Antoni; Michaux, Jacques. (2009). Mandible Morphometrics, Dental Microwear Pattern, and Paleobiology of the Extinct Balearic Dormouse Hypnomys morpheus. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54(2): 181-194.
Mills, D. H. (1976). Osteological study of the Pleistocene dormouse Hypnomys morpheus Bate from Mallorca (Rodentia, Gliridae). Pub Pal Inst Univ Uppsala 14: 1-58.
Moncunill-Solé, Blanca, Jordana, Xavier, Marín-Moratalla, Nekane, Moyà-Solà, Salvador and Köhler, Meike. (2014). How large are the extinct giant insular rodents? New body mass estimations from teeth and bones. Intergrative Zoology 9(2): 197-212. [Abstract]
Quintana J. (1993). Descripción de un rastro de Myotragus e icnitas de Hypnomys del yacimiento cuaternario de Ses Penyes d'es Perico (Ciutadella de Menorca, Balears). Paleont Evol. 26-27: 271-279.
Quintana, J. and Arnau, P. (2004). Descripció dels rastres i les petjades d'Hypnomys Bate, 1918 (Mammalia: Gliridae) de la cova de sa Duna (Alaior, Menorca). Endins. 26: 7-14.
Reumer, J. W. F. (1980). Evolutie en biogeografie van de kleine zoogdieren van Mallorca (Spanje). Lutra 1980: 13-32.
Turvey, Samuel T. (2009). Holocene mammal extinctions, pp. 41-61. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. Oxford, UK & New York, USA: Oxford University Press. xii + 352 pp.
Turvey, Samuel T. and Fritz, Susanne A. (2011). The ghosts of mammals past: biological and geographical patterns of global mammalian extinction across the Holocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 366(1577): 2564-2576. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0020 [Supplementary Information]
Zammit Maempel, G. & de Bruijn, H. 1982 The Plio-Pleistocene Gliridae from the Mediterranean islands reconsidered. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen 85: 113-128.
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/7004/eliomys-morpheus