Hypnomys

Hypnomys Temporal range: Early Pliocene–Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
H. morpheus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Gliridae
Subfamily:	Leithiinae
Genus:	†Hypnomys Bate, 1918
Type species
†Hypnomys mahonensis Bate, 1918
Species
†H. eliomyoides †H. morpheus †H. onicensis †H. waldreni †H. mahonensis

Hypnomys, otherwise known as Balearic giant dormice, is an extinct genus of dormouse (Gliridae) in the subfamily Leithiinae.^[1] Its species are considered examples of insular gigantism.^[2] They were endemic to the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean from the Early Pliocene until their extinction around the 3rd millennium BC. They first appeared in the fossil record on Mallorca during the Early Pliocene (around 5 million years ago), presumably as a result to the evaporation of the Mediterranean sea during the Messinian salinity crisis (5.96-5.33 million years ago) connecting the Balearic Islands with mainland Europe. They later spread to Menorca, and a possible molar is also known from Ibiza.^[3] Hypnomys became extinct during the late Holocene (around 4500-4000 years ago) likely shortly after human arrival on the Balearics. They were one of only three native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the shrew Nesiotites and goat-antelope Myotragus.