The '''dormouse''' (Muscardinus Avellanarius) is an [[arboreal]] mammal that, although once common, is now an endangered species in the [[British Isles]]. Similar in appearance to the common mouse, dormice have long bushy tails used to assist in climbing trees. They are omniverous, feeding on fruits, berries, flowers, nuts and insects.
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[[Lewis Carroll]], the writer, included a dormouse in the [[Alice in Wonderland]] stories and portrayed it as a fat lazy creature. This is not far from the truth as the dormouse (named from the Latin ''Dormeus'' or "sleepy one") spends more than three quarters of its life asleep.
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Due to the human destruction of its traditional habitats, the dormouse is in decline.
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Dormice have also been considered as something of a delicacy since [[Roman]] times. Dormice were prized as a foodstuff in ancient Rome, either as a savoury appetizer or as a dessert (dipped in honey and poppy seeds). The Romans had a special kind of terracotta jar known as a "gliraria" used to rear dormice for the table <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/269.shtml</ref>.