547.

Ubangui Mouse

Mus oubanguii

French: Souris de "Oubangui / German: Ubangi-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Ratén de Ubangui Taxonomy. Mus oubanguii Petter & Genest, 1970,

Bangassou near Lake Maboké (near Mongoumba), Central African Republic. Based on proodont incisors, considered to be part of the M. sorellaspecies group, from which it can be distinguished based on its reddish-brown dorsal coloration and blackish, slightly pointed ears. Monotypic. Distribution. Known from just three locali-ties in S Central African Republic.

Descriptive notes. LL 50-69 mm, tail 2641 mm, ear 9-13 mm, hindfoot 13— 14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Very small mouse with short tail. Fur is reddish-brown above and pure white below and on chin. Tail is short (c.60% of head-body length). Ears large, blackish, slightly pointed, withlarge postauricular white spot. Feet white. Females have five pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 28, FN variable.

550.

Gray-bellied Mouse

Mus triton

Habitat. Sandy savanna patches on slightly lateritic soils, near forest.

French: Souris triton / German: Triton-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton de vientre gris Other common names: Gray-bellied Pygmy Mouse

Food and Feeding. In captivity, the Ubangui Mouse feeds on seeds and insects.

Breeding. Limited data indicate births in May and June (other months not sampled); litter size 4-5.

Taxonomy. Leggada triton Thomas, 1909,

Activity patterns. Ubangui Mice are nocturnal and terrestrial.

“Kirui, [Mount] Elgon, British East Africa [= Kenya]. Alt. 6000" [= 1830 m].”

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Ubangui Mouse makes simple underground burrows, where young are born in spherical nest chambers, lined with vegetation. Apart from females with their litters, individuals nest alone.

As currently delineated, this is a complex comprising at least two species, as demonstrated by the work of J. M. Lamb and colleagues in 2014 and A. Monadjem and colleagues in 2015. Large gray-bellied specimens attributed to M. triton form twohighly divergent molecular and chromosomal clades: on the one hand, from Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique (with chromosomal complement of 2n = 20-22, FN = 34); and, on the other, from DR Congo (with 2n = 32, FN = 34. Monotypic. Distribution. Extreme S South Sudan, S Ethiopia (Bale Mts), NE DR Congo, and from Uganda and Kenya SW & S to Angola, Zambia, WC Mozambique, and Malawi.

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

Bibliography. Genest-Villard (1973), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Petter (1981), Petter & Genest (1970).

548.

Peters’s Mouse

Mus setulosus

French: Souris hérissée / German: Peters-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton de Peters

Taxonomy. Mus setulosus Peters, 1876, Victoria, Cameroon.

Specimens from NE DR Congo attributed to present species by D. C. D. Happold in 2013 were subsequently reassigned to M. bufo on molecular grounds by J. Bryja and colleagues in 2014. The latter authors also found that Ethiopian specimens previously included in this species form an undescribed phylogenetically distinct species (cf. proconodon). Monotypic.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 56-84 mm, tail 42-65 mm, ear 8-14 mm, hindfoot 14-17 mm; weight 8-16 g. Small mouse with shorttail. Fur is darkish brown flecked with buff or yellow above, darker on rump and brownish on flanks; below medium gray to grayish white, sometimes tinged with yellow. Dorsal and ventral colors sharply demarcated by yellowish stripe in adults. Tail is short (¢.70% of head-body length), dark above and paler below. Ears are dark with short sparse brownish hairs. Feet are brownish or yellowish. Females have five pairs of nipples.

Habitat. Occurs in a wide range of grassland, wetland, forest, scrub, and agricultural habitats at elevations of 1000-3500 m.

Distribution. Scattered across W, C & E Africa (from Guinea E to Ghana and W Nigeria; Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, and W Republic of the Congo; and Ethiopia).

Food and Feeding. The Gray-bellied Mouse is omnivorous, but primarily insectivorous. In stomachs analyzed in Malawi and DR Congo, beetles were the main insects taken while vegetable matter was mostly whitein color, representing grains such as sorghum.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-84 mm, tail 43-63 mm, ear 8-14 mm, hindfoot 13-17 mm; weight 8-23 g. Small mouse with short tail. Fur is short and slightly coarse, dull blackish brown above and pure white or off white below. Tail is short (¢.67% of head-body length), dark above and below. Ears darkly pigmented, covered with short gray or buff hairs, without postauricular white spot. Largest West African Mus, with duller-colored fur than other co-occurring Mus species. Based on cytochrome-b sequences, as currently constituted, this species represents a species complex of at least three species lineages from: Ethiopia (cf. proconodon); Central Africa ( setulosus); and West Africa ( setulosus “West”). Chromosomal complement is 2n = 36, FN = 36.

Breeding. Reproduction is confined mostly to the wet season or early dry season, with two or three litters per season. Litter size 2-7.

Activity patterns. Gray-bellied Mice are terrestrial, and both nocturnal and diurnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Gray-bellied Mice make nests at the base of grass clumps.

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

Bibliography. Delany (1975), Dieterlen (1967a), Hanney (1965), Happold (2013a), Happold & Happold (1989a, 1989b), Lamb et al. (2014), Monadjem et al. (2015).

Habitat. Broad range of habitats from low to high altitudes, from rainforest, riverine, tropical deciduous and montane forests and adjacent grasslands to cultivated clearings in forests. Elevational range varies geographically, e.g. 500-1300 m on Mount Nimba, Liberia, 1550-2300 m in the mountains of Cameroon and Nigeria, and 1000-1750 m in the Ethiopian highlands.

551.

Delicate Mouse

Mus tenellus

French: Souris délicate / German: Zierliche Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton delicado

Food and Feeding. No information.

Taxonomy. Leggada tenella Thomas, 1903,

“Roseres [= Roseires], Blue Nile,” Sudan

.

Breeding. No information.

Taxonomy, identification, and distribution confused. According to the 2014 findings ofJ. Bryja and colleagues, Tanzanian records should be attributed to a distinct species, M. gerbillus, which is currently included within the synonymy of the present species. Also, in 2005, G. G.Musser and M. D. Carleton concluded that many of the Ethiopian records normally attributed to M. tenellus (and possibly other mapped records from Somalia and Sudan) are apparently misidentified M. minutoides . For the present work, we plot all records from the works of the teams of D. C. D. Happold in 2013 and A. Monadjem in 2015. Monotypic.

Activity patterns. Peters’s Mice are nocturnal and terrestrial.

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), Jotterand-Bellomo (1986), Lamb et al. (2014), Matthey (1966), Monadjem et al. (2015), Rosevear (1969), Yalden et al. (1976).

549.

Thomas's Mouse

Mus sorella

French: Souris de Thomas / German: Thomas-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton de Thomas

Other common names: Sorella Pygmy Mouse

Taxonomy. Leggada sorella Thomas, 1909,

“Kirui, [Mount] Elgon. Alt. 6000 ft [= 1830 m],” western Kenya.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Scattered in N Cameroon, N Central African Republic, NE &S DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, N Tanzania, C & E Angola, and N Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51-73 mm, tail 34-46 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 12-14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Small mouse with short tail. Furis soft, dark grayish brown above, and pure white below, extending onto the flanks; upper lips, lower cheeks, chin, throat and chest pure white. Tail is short (c.65% of head—body length). Ears are long and dark brown, with small postauricular white spot. Feet are white. Females have four pairs of nipples. Members of the M. sorella species group are distinguished by their proodont INCisors.

Habitat. Savanna grassland and woodland, especially where grass is long.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Thomas’s Mice are nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Petter (1981), Verheyen (1965b).

Distribution. Widespread in Ethiopia and very patchy in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-62 mm, tail 34-43 mm, ear 8-10 mm, hindfoot 12—-14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Small mouse with short tail. Fur is sandy above and pure white below, extending onto the chin and throat. Tail is short (¢.70% of head-body length). Ears short and gray, with extensive postauricular white patches, which may extend around the base of each ear (more than in any other species of Mus). Feet white. Females have four pairs of nipples.

Habitat. Grass steppe with clumps of thicket, occurring at elevations of 600-2000 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Bryja, Mikula, Sumbera et al. (2014), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Petter (1972c), Yalden et al. (1976).