NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common African Dormouse
Graphiurus (Graphiurus) murinus (Desmarest, 1822)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The woodland dormouse (Graphiurus murinus) is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae. It is native to southern and eastern Africa and is also known as the African dormouse, African dwarf dormouse, African pygmy dormouse, or colloquially as micro squirrel. Found in limited numbers in the pet trade, it has complicated care requirements compared to other pet rodents. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical, moist montane forests and rivers.
Wikipedia contributors, Woodland dormouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:10:52.574755+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Graphiurus (Graphiurus) murinus (Desmarest, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Desmarest, 1822)
- Common name
- Common African Dormouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Gliridae
- Genus
- Graphiurus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderSciuromorpha Brandt, 1855
- familyGliridae Muirhead, 1819
- subfamilyGraphiurinae Winge, 1887
- genusGraphiurus Smuts, 1832
- subgenusGraphiurus Smuts, 1832
- speciesGraphiurus (Graphiurus) murinus (Desmarest, 1822)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Graphiurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Verheyen's African DormouseGraphiurus (Claviglis) walterverheyeni Holden & Levine, 2009 | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jentink's DormouseGraphiurus (Claviglis) crassicaudatus (Jentink, 1888) | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lorrain DormouseGraphiurus (Graphiurus) lorraineus Dollman, 1910 | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Angolan African DormouseGraphiurus (Graphiurus) angolensis de Winton, 1897 | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large Savanna African DormouseGraphiurus (Graphiurus) microtis (Noack, 1887) | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Flat-headed African DormouseGraphiurus (Graphiurus) platyops Thomas, 1897 | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Christy's African DormouseGraphiurus (Graphiurus) christyi Dollman, 1914 | GliridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Myoxus murinus Desmarest, 1822 Desmarest, 1822 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584959 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6KRCY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.