425.

Liberian Forest Striped Mouse

Hybomys planifrons

French: Hybomys du Liberia / German: Liberia-Streifenmaus / Spanish: Raton listado de bosque de Liberia

Other common names: Liberian Forest Hybomys, Miller's Hybomys, Miller's Striped Mouse

Taxonomy. Arvicanthis planifrons G. S. Miller, 1900,

“Mount Coffee, Liberia, Africa.”

Previously considered to be a subspecies of H. unwvittatus or H. trivirgatus, H. plani-Jfrons was accorded full species status following chromosomal and morphological analyses. Monotypic.

Distribution. Upper Guinea Forest in W Africa, from Guinea and Sierra Leone E to Liberia and SW Ivory Coast W of the Sassandra River.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 120-130 mm, tail 91-104 mm, ear 28-32 mm, hindfoot 28-32 mm; weight 46-60 g. Fur is rich dark brown above, with a mid-dorsal stripe extending from ear to base of tail and with belly similarly dark-colored. Tail is short (70-80% of head-body length) and sparsely haired, dark above and below or slightly paler below. Ears are small and darkly pigmented with fine hairs. Upper surface of hindfeet is dusky brown, with soles black and hairless. Females have 0+2 = 2 pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 35-39, FN = 40-42.

Habitat. Primary and secondary rainforest with dense ground cover and in cocoa plantations, at 100-1000 m.

Food and Feeding. The Liberian Forest Striped Mouse is primarily insectivorous, but feeds also on fruits and other vegetable matter.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Liberian Forest Striped Mice are terrestrial and diurnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Carleton & Robbins (1985), Grubb et al. (1998), Happold (2013a).