43.

Black-clawed Brush-furred Rat

Lophuromys melanonyx

French: Rat-hérissé a griffes noires / German: Schwarzkrallen-Birstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo de unas negras

Taxonomy. Lophuromys melanonyx Petter, 1972,

Dinshu,Bale District, Ethiopia.

Lophuromys melanonyx was placed into the L.flavopunctatus species complex and then further rehabilitated as a valid species following description of unique karyology, a mtDNA phylogeny, and morphometric analyses. Nevertheless, genetic distances are quite small with L. menagashae, and additional molecular analyses are required to verify status of these two Ethiopian endemic rodents. Monotypic.

Distribution. Rift Valley highlands, C & S Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 120-180 mm, tail 30-99 mm, ear 19-26 mm, hindfoot 21-25 mm; weight 60-142 g. The Black-clawed Brush-furred Rat is one of the largest species of Lophuromys . Dorsum is gray-brown and speckled with cream spots. Venter is white pale yellow. Feet are white, with long black claws. Tail is very short, ¢.43% of head-body length. Skull is large, with proodont incisors. Females have two pairs of inguinal mammae. Standard karyotype is of 2n = 60.

Habitat. Afro-alpine moorland at elevations above 3200 m.

Food and Feeding. Analyses of the stomachs of Black-clawed Brush-furred Rats show a vegetarian diet of 93% dicotyledonous herbs and 2% monocotyledonous leaves, 3% seeds, and 2% insects.

Breeding. Female Black-clawed Brush-furred Rats can have two litters/year (average 1-9 embryos). Breeding season peaks at the beginning of wet seasons.

Activity patterns. The Black-clawed Brush-furred Rat is diurnal and active between 08:00 and 18:00 h.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Black-clawed Brush-furred Rats can dig burrows using their long claws and proodont incisors. They probably live in colonies with another Murinae, Blick’s Grass Rat ( Arvicanthis blicki). Density estimates of Black-clawed Brush-furred Rats were 102-658 ind/ha in the Bale Mountains.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Blackclawed Brush-furred Rat has a small and fragmented distribution, and its natural habitats have decreased.

Bibliography. Corti et al. (1995), Lavrenchenko, Verheyen, E. et al. (2004), Lavrenchenko, Verheyen, W.N. & Hulselmans (1998), Lavrenchenko, Verheyen, W.N., Verheyen et al. (2007), Petter (1972b), Sillero-Zubiri et al. (1995b), Yalden (2013d), Yalden & Largen (1992), Yalden et al. (1976).