A record of a melanistic forest dormouse Dryomys nitedula in Lithuania, with a review of colour anomalies in dormice (Gliridae)

Abstract

A melanistic forest dormouse Dryomys nitedula was recorded among 125 individuals marked in a small isolated local population in central Lithuania. Until now, a totally black individual of D. nitedula was captured only in western Ukraine. A review of the literature on colour anomalies in European dormouse species has shown that this phenomenon is rare in dormice. Several black hazel dormice Muscardinus avellanarius were recorded in the same locality in northern Germany in 1972 and 2015, and one such dormouse was captured in the UK. Partial albino M. avellanarius was recorded in Germany. Two melanistic garden dormice Eliomys quercinus were collected in the Czech Republic, an albino specimen in France and a flavistic specimen in Germany. In the edible dormouse Glis glis, melanistic, albino, isabelline and flavistic individuals were recorded, all from Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Among aberrant-coloured European dormice, melanistic individuals were documented most often. Tail-tip albinism is more frequent among M. avellanarius, and this trait was recorded in several countries.