450.

Crawford-Cabral’s Shaggy Rat

Dasymys cabrali

French: Dasymys de Cabral / German: Cabral-Wollhaarratte / Spanish: Rata peluda de Crawford-Cabral

Other common names: Cabral's Dasymys, Cabral’'s Shaggy Rat, Crawford-Cabral’s Dasymys

Taxonomy. Dasymys cabrali W. N. Verheyen et al, 2003,

near the Okavango River (Omatoka Junction), Groot Fontein District, NE Namibia. Described taxon D. shortridge: is a junior synonym of D. cabrali . Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Angola, NE Namibia, and NW Botswana.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 163 mm, tail 153 mm, ear 19 mm, hindfoot 36 mm; weight 119 g. As with all Dasymys, fur of Crawford-Cabral’s Shaggy Rat is soft, shaggy, long-haired, and reddish-brown in color. Tail is just shorter than head-body length (95% of latter).

Habitat. Swampy habitats in montane wetlands.

Food and Feeding. Crawford-Cabral’s Shaggy Rat is predominantly herbivorous, with a diet presumably similar to that described for the African Shaggy Rat ( D. incomtus), including aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Crawford-Cabral’s Shaggy Rats are presumably crepuscular and diurnal, likeother members of genus.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List.

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