541.

Baoule Mouse

Mus baouleri

French: Souris des Baoulés / German: Baoule-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton de Baoule

Taxonomy. Leggada baoulei Vermeiren & W. N. Verheyen, 1980,

Lamto, Ivory Coast.

Sister species to M. sorella . At least two deeply divergent (cytochrome-b genetic distances greater than 9%) and geographically overlapping species-clades were reported within this species by J. Bryja and colleagues in 2014. Subspecific taxonomy requires reassessment.

Distribution. Known only from a few scattered localities in W Africa, including E Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and W Nigeria.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-70 mm, tail 38-45 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 12-15 mm; weight 6-8 g. The Baoule Mouse is a very small rodent with a short tail. Fur is gray brown to dark brown above and white below, clearly delineated on flanks and cheeks. Single ocher spot present below each eye and ear. Tail is short (50-65% of head-body length), brown above and paler below with short fine hairs. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 20/21, FN = 32.

Habitat. Savanna.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Baoule Mice are presumably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Bryja, Mikula, Sumbera et al. (2014), Happold (2013a), Kan Kouassi et al. (2008), Monadjem et al. (2015), Vermeiren & Verheyen (1980).