475.

Hoogstraal’s Striped Grass Mouse

Lemniscomys hoogstraali

French: Rat-rayé de Hoogstrall / German: Hoogstraal-Streifengrasmaus / Spanish: Raton de hierba listado de Hoogstraal

Other common names: Hoogstraal's Lemniscomys

Taxonomy. Lemniscomys hoogstraali Dieterlen, 1991,

12 miles N of Niayok, Paloich, Upper Nile Province, South Sudan.

Lemniscomys hoogstraali has been included in L. zebra, but differs in larger body and skull size, as well as darker dorsum and flanks and more distinctive pattern of stripes. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from type locality on White Nile River, NE South Sudan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 127 mm, tail 128 mm, ear 16, hindfoot 28 mm (measurements based on holotype). No weight data are available. Fur of Hoogstraal’s Striped Grass Mouse is coarse and very dark brown (darker than L. zebra) above, contrasting with pure white venter, with black mid-dorsal stripe; flank has five (not six or seven as on L. zebra) lateral white stripes, each widening from anterior to posterior, and in between these dominantstripes are four secondary fainter white stripes that are often broken into spots and streaks. Tail is long (100% of head-body length), dark, and sparsely haired. Ears are medium-sized. Yellowish eye-ring is present. Forefeet first and fifth digits are greatly reduced, and hindfeet first and fifth digits are reduced.

Habitat. Forested grassland with Acacia mellifera (Fabaceae) and Balanites aegyptiaca ( Zygophyllaceae) trees.

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 Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Dieterlen (1991), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015).