455.

Ethiopian Thicket Rat

Grammomys minnae

French: Grammomys de Minna / German: Athiopien-Akazienmaus / Spanish: Rata de matorral de Etiopia

Other common names: Ethiopian Grammomys

Taxonomy. Grammomys minnae Hutterer & Dieterlen, 1984,

edge of Bulcha Forest,

S ofDilla, Sidamo Province, S Ethiopia, c.1800 m.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from two montane localities in SE Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 110 mm, tail 173 mm, ear 18 mm, hindfoot 23 mm; weight 36 g. The Ethiopian Thicket Rat’s fur is uniformly grayish brown above apart from slightly darker mask around eyes, with sharply demarcated creamy-white belly. Tail is very long (157% of head-body length), semi-prehensile, and tufted. Feet have four digits on forefoot and five on relatively short hindfoot, fifth digit longer and semi-opposable. Claws are short. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32, FN = 64.

Habitat. Gallery forest within savanna, at ¢.1800 m altitude.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Ethiopian Thicket Rats are presumably nocturnal and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Hutterer & Dieterlen (1984), Olert etal. (1978).