48.

Congolese Brush-furred

Rat

Lophuromys rita

French: Rat-hérissé du Congo / German: Kongo-Burstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo del Congo

Taxonomy. Lophuromys rita Dollman, 1910,

Mporokoso, S. Lake Tanganyika.

Lophuromys rita was described as a distinct species close to L. zena . It was first synonymized with L. aquilus but later rehabilitated based on molecular and morphological grounds. It is in flavopunctatus species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. Left bank of Congo River, DR Congo, and NW Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 107-5 mm,

tail 68 mm, ear 16mm (from holotype), hindfoot 21 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Congolese Brush-furred Rat is speckled and similar to the Zena Brush-furred Rat ( L. zena) externally but has redder and more finely speckled dorsum. Dorsum of the Congolese Brush-furred Ratis black to reddish brown, and venter is cinnamon-gray. Tail is rather short (c.63% of head-body length).

Habitat. [.owland primary forest at elevations of ¢.1200 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 Congolese Brushfurred Rat has recently been captured in primary forest, suggesting it not very rare and probably of Least Concern, but additional data on basic ecology and abundance are needed to clarify its conservation status.

Bibliography. Dollman (1910), Katuala et al. (2008), Monadjem et al. (2015), Verheyen, Hulselmans, Dierckx, Mulungu et al. (2007), Verheyen, Hulselmans, Dierckx & Verheyen (2002).