27.

Ethiopian Brush-furred Rat

Lophuromys brunneus

French: Rat-hérissé de Thomas / German: Athiopien-Biirstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo de Etiopia

Other common names: Thomas's Ethiopian Brush-furred Rat

Taxonomy. Lophuromys aquilus brunneus Thomas, 1906,

“Manno, Jimma, [South Ethiopia]. Alt. 4200’ [= 1280 m].”

Lophuromys brunneus was initially described as a subspecies of L. aquilus and then synonymized with L. flavopunctatus . G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005 and W. N. Verheyen and colleagues in 2002 in their revisionof the L. flavopunctatus species complex sorted out L. brunneus based on morphometric and molecular characteristics. Genetic distance between L. brunneus and L. flavopunctatus is small, and they could be the same species. Nevertheless, pending additional molecular analyses, they are considered distinct here, following A. Monadjem and colleagues in 2015. Monotypic.

Distribution. W of the Rift Valley in SW Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 101-138 mm, tail 55-84 mm, ear 17-20 mm, hindfoot 22.8-26-7 mm; weight 38-76 g. Chromosomal complementis 2n = 68 and FNa = 78.

Habitat. Mountain forests at elevations above 1800 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Ethiopian Brushfurred Rat was considered a synonym of the Buff-spotted Brush-furred Rat ( L. flavopunctatus), which was classified as Least Concern.

Bibliography. Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Verheyen et al. (2002).