567.

Little Burmese Field Mouse

Mus lepidoides

French: Souris de Birmanie / German: Kleine Burma-Maus / Spanish: Raton de Birmania pequeno

Other common names: Little Burma Field Mouse

Taxonomy. Leggada lepidoides Fry, 1931, Mont Popa, Burma (= Myanmar).

Long considered a synonym of M. booduga but a recent molecular study by T. Shimada and colleagues in 2010 found it to be distinct and very distant from all other species in the subgenus Mus; these authors selected a new holotype, and provided a full morphological description of the species. Monotypic.

Distribution. C Myanmar.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-77 mm, tail 44-58 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 13-15 mm; weight 6-8 g. This extremely small mouse is characterized by a variably colored soft pelage. It ranges from reddish brown to gray brown dorsally and from pure white to cream-gray ventrally. Tail is shorter (c.77%) than head-body length and is bicolored. Cheeks are white and there is a small white spot below each ear; skull is characterized by a short rostrum, a wide braincase, and large molars. Females bear five pairs of mammae. Habitat. The Little Burmese Field Mouse has been collected within the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar and in dune complexes that flank the Irrawaddy River as it drains to the south. On Mount Popa, its habitat is a poor sandy soil with heavily degraded vegetation,still including patches of dry deciduous forest, thorny scrub, and Euphorbia . Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Little Burmese Field Mice is probably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Little Burmese Field Mice live in burrows. A burrow system excavated at Pyay ran to a depth of 0-7 m in deep sandy soil and consisted of a long, convoluted tunnel running between unconcealed entrance and exit holes c.1 m apart, with a centrally located breeding chamber containing leaves, and a few blind side passages. Pairs of males and females were trapped in the same burrows, but without young. Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The [UCN Red List, where it is still classified under M. booduga . The Little Burmese Field Mouse is locally abundant in both the Mandalay and West Bago Divisions and is regarded as an agricultural pest by local peanut growers in West Bago.

Bibliography. Marshall (1977a), Musser & Carleton (2005), Shimada et al. (2010).