446.

Glover Allen’s Shaggy Rat

Dasymys alleni

French: Dasymys dAllen / German: Allen-Wollhaarratte / Spanish: Rata peluda de Glover Allen

Other common names: Glover Allen's Dasymys

Taxonomy. Dasymys incomtus alleni Lawrence & Loveridge, 1953,

“Ilolo, Rungwe Mountain, Tanganyika Territory [= Tanzanial.”

Dasymys alleni is apparently distinguished from other East African species by craniometric characters, but cytochrome-b distances between this species and D. sua, D. medius, and D. rwandae are extremely low (less than 2:5%) for species recognition. Monotypic.

Distribution. W rim of Albertine Rift and mountains of Southern Rift of Tanzania.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 112-179 mm, tail 103-140 mm, ear 17-21 mm, hindfoot 25-34 mm; weight 48-135 g. As with all Dasymys, Glover Allen’s Shaggy Rat has fur that is soft, shaggy, long-haired, and reddish-brown in color. Tail is short (90% of head-body length).

Habitat. Montane wetlands.

Food and Feeding. Glover Allen’s Shaggy Rat is predominantly herbivorous, with a diet presumably similar to that described for the African Shaggy Rat ( D. incomtus), including aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and insects.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Presumably crepuscular and diurnal, like other members of genus. Glover Allen’s Shaggy Ratis semi-aquatic.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Monadjem et al. (2015), Verheyen et al. (2003).