Kingdom Animalia Subfamily Leithiinae Higher classification Leithiinae Order Rodent | Family Gliridae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | |
Similar Mammal, Rodent, Dormouse, Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis, Hypnomys | ||
Leithia is a genus of extinct giant dormice from the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily. It is considered an example of island gigantism.
Island fossils
Leithia was proposed in 1896 by Richard Lydekker as the type genus of the Leithiinae. It is estimated to have weighed up to 113 g (4.0 oz). In the time before the Mediterranean islands were colonised by humans, dozens of mammal species endemic to the area, some unusually large like Leithia, some unusually small (such as pygmy elephants and hippopotamuses) lived in Malta and Sicily, while another giant dormouse, Hypnomys, lived on Mallorca to the west. In an instance of island gigantism, the dormice were able to grow large in the absence of predators on these islands, which otherwise force rodents to hide in holes or cracks, requiring them to be small. Two species of Leithia, namely L. melitensis (the Maltese giant dormouse) and L. cartei, lived in Sicily. The skull of L. melitensis was 10 cm long.