544.

Callewaert’s Mouse

Mus callewaerti

French: Souris de Callewaert / German: Callewaert-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Ratdn de Callewaert

Taxonomy. Hylenomys callewaerti Thomas, 1925,

Kanaga (= Luluabourg), 610 m, Kasai-Occidental, DR Congo.

The largest member of the genus. In 2014, J. Bryja and colleagues considered this species to represent one of few ancestral Mus lineages. Monotypic.

Distribution. Until recently considered to occur in C & NE Angola and S & SE DR Congo, but based on cytochrome-b sequences, Bryja and colleagues in 2014 extended the range to include the NW region and the Eastern Arc Mts of Tanzania, much of NE Zambia, and Malawi; also recorded from a single locality in extreme NW Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 80-89 mm, tail 43-57 mm, ear 11-14 mm, hindfoot 16-5-17 mm; weight 14-18 g. Small mouse with short tail. The fur is stiff, dense and coarse, medium to dark brown above and whitish gray below, sometimes with apale pinkish-buff tinge. Tail is very short (c.50% of head-body length), brownish, slightly paler below than above. Ears short and brown, without postauricular white spots. Lips and chin white.

Habitat. Forest or savanna. A recentseries from Angola in the Namibia National Museum was collected in a village on a river in Huambo Province.

Food and Feeding. Callewaert’s Mouse is known to feed on fruit of prickly pear ( Opuntia).

Breeding. Sparse data indicate breeding across different seasons.

Activity patterns. Callewaert’s Mice are mainly nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List.

Bibliography. Bryja, Mikula, Sumbera et al. (2014), Delany (1975), Happold (2013a), Hill & Carter (1941), Kerbis Peterhans et al. (1998), Lamb et al. (2014), Misonne (1965), Monadjem et al. (2015), Sanborn (1952b).