Japanese dormouse

The Japanese dormouse (Glirulus japonicus) is a species of rodent in the Gliridae family. It is the only species in the genus Glirulus. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. In Japanese it is called Yamane (山鼠). It has the special ability of running at great speed upside down, underneath branches. Its main food is nectar or pollen, although nursing females will eat small insects.

Japanese dormouse
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Gliridae
Subfamily:	Glirinae
Genus:	Glirulus Thomas, 1906
Binomial name
Glirulus japonicus (Schinz, 1845)

References

• Holden M.E. 2005. Family Gliridae. pp. 819–841 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
• Ishii N. & Kaneko Y. (2008). "Glirulus japonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 4 Jan 2009.