453.

Cape Shaggy Rat

Dasymys capensis

French: Dasymys du Cap / German: Kap-Wollhaarratte / Spanish: Rata peluda de El Cabo

Other common names: Cape Dasymys

Taxonomy. Dasymys capensis Roberts, 1936,

La Plisante, Wolseley, Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Formerly included in D. incomtus, D. capensis was elevated to species status by S. K. Mullin and colleagues in 2004. Monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to a few isolated localities in Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 153 mm, tail 132 mm, ear 20 mm, hindfoot 35 mm;

weight 111 g. Like all Dasymys, the Cape Shaggy Rat has fur soft, shaggy, long-haired, and reddish-brown. Tail is relatively short (86% of head—body length).

Habitat. Swampy areas in wetlands.

Food and Feeding. Predominantly herbivorous, the Cape Shaggy Rat has a diet presumably similar to that of the African Shaggy Rat ( D. incomtus), including aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Presumably crepuscular and diurnal, like other members of genus. The Cape Shaggy Rats is semi-aquatic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Classified recently as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List regionally (South Africa) and therefore globally.

Bibliography. Child et al. (2016), Monadjem et al. (2015), Mullin, Pillay & Taylor (2005), Mullin, Taylor & Pillay (2004), Verheyen et al. (2003).