44.

North Western Rift Brush-furred Rat

Lophuromys menageshae

French: Rat-hérissé de Menagescha / German: Menagasha-Blrstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo del Valle Noroccidental

Taxonomy. Lophuromys menageshae Lavrenchenko et al, 2007,

Suba Forest Station, Menagesha Forest, Ethiopia.

Recently described, L. menageshae belongs to the L. flavopunctatus species complex. It is quite close to L. simensis based on genetic analyses but morphometrically distinct. It is genetically distant from all other Ethiopian endemic species of Lophuromys and has a chromosomal complement of 2n = 70 and FNa = 84. Monotypic.

Distribution. C Ethiopia, W of Rift Valley.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 129-143 mm, tail 60-75 mm, ear 15-20 mm, hindfoot 22-24 mm; weight 72-77 g. The North Western Rift Brush-furred Rat was described based on its large skull and narrow orbital and palatal regions. Dorsum is speckled blackish-brownish, and venteris gray-yellow to pale orange. Tail is bicolored and short (¢.50% of head-body length).

Habitat. Mountain forests at elevations of 2100-2600 m. At the type locality, North Western Rift Brush-furred Rats were caught on the edge of typical undifferentiated Afro-montane forest with open grassy patches. Dominant trees included Juniperus procera and Cupressus lusitanica (both Cupressaceae), Podocarpusfalcatus ( Podocarpaceae), Olea europaea ( Oleaceae), Pinus radiata (Pinaceae), and Maytenus gracilipes (Celastraceae), and Solanecio gigas (Asteraceae) dominated the shrub layer.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List as a distinct species. Conservation threats to the North Western Rift Brush-furred Rat are unknown, but its mountain forest habitats have been degraded.

Bibliography. Lavrenchenko, Verheyen, E. et al. (2004), Lavrenchenko, Verheyen, W.N. et al. (2007).