601.

Kollmannsperger’s Multimammate Mouse

Mastomys kollmannspergeri

French: Mastomys de Kollmannsperger / German: Kollmannsperger-Vielzitzenmaus / Spanish: Raton multimamas de Kollmannsperger

Other common names: Kollmannsperger’s Mastomys

Taxonomy. Rattus kollmannspergeri Petter, 1957, 150 km north of Agadez, northern Niger.

Mastomys kollmannspergeri was originally described as a subspecies of M. natalensis but now is considered a distinct species. The recently described M. verheyeni is a junior synonym of M. kollmannspergeni. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known from a few scattered localities in W Niger, near Lake Chad in

NE Nigeria and SW Chad, and SE Sudan. Descriptive notes. Head-body 118-166 mm, tail 96-137 mm, ear 15-20 mm, hindfoot 24-29 mm; weight 54-160 g. Kollmannsperger’s Multimammate Mouse is one of the largest species of Mastomys. Fur is medium gray above, and paler below. Tail is long (c.85% of head-body length) and scaly, with rather long hair. Forefeet and hindfeet have rather long white hairs. Females have 9-12 pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 38 and FN = 40. Habitat. Seasonally flooded habitats, grasslands, and villages. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. Breeding might be seasonal. Litters have 7-12 young. Activity patterns. The Kollmannsperger’s Multimammate Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Bibliography. Dobigny et al. (2008), Granjon et al. (2004), Happold (2013a), Monadjem etal. (2015), Volobouey, Aniskin et al. (2002).