490.

Schouteden’s Thicket Rat

Thamnomys schoutedeni

French: Thamnomys de Schouteden / German: Schouteden-Dickichtratte / Spanish: Rata de acacias de Schouteden

Other common names: Schouteden’s Thamnomys

Taxonomy. Thamnomys venustus schouteden: Hatt, 1934,

Medje, Ituri District, DR Congo. Thamnomys schoutedeni was previously included in 7. venustus, as by G. G.Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005, but was later treated as a separate species on basis of smaller body and skull measurements, and was recognized as distinct by A. Monadjem and colleagues in 2015. It occurs at lower elevations than 7. venustus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from two localities in E DR Congo.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 114-122 mm, tail 171-203 mm, ear 16-20 mm, hindfoot 24-26 mm; weight 40-50 g. Schouteden’s Thicket Ratis the smallest member of the genus. Furis long, soft, and brown or russet brown above, paler on flanks, sharply delineated from whitish belly, without any separating line. Head is grayish buff with black nose tip. Eyes lack dark ring. Ears are dark brown with white subauricular tuft. Feet are similar in color to flanks; hindfeet short. Tail is very long (c.155% of head-body length), slightly scaly, brown, with conspicuous terminal tuft of longer hairs.

Habitat. Primary and secondary rainforest and submontane forest, at 800-1450 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Schouteden’s Thicket Rat is arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Hatt (1934), Dieterlen (1999), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005).