THE HAZEL DORMOUSE (MUSCARDINUS AVELLANARIUS): RE-INTRODUCTION TO NORTH YORKSHIRE

摘要

The common (hazel) dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius (L.), is a species whose range inBritain has contracted markedly over the past century (Bright & Morris, 2005). Howes(1985) summarized the records for Yorkshire and noted that most came from the 19th andearly 20th centuries although a few were more recent with a number of sightings from the1950s and 1960s. The latest claims mentioned by Howes came from the Esk Valley whereremains were apparently found in an owl pellet and an animal sighted in 1979, and fromnear Kirkbymoorside where a hibernating individual was discovered in January 1980. It isnot clear to what extent these important records were verified by other mammalogists.