20.

Selous’s Spiny Mouse

Acomys selousi

French: Acomys de Selous / German: Selous-Stachelmaus / Spanish: Raton espinoso de Selous

Taxonomy. Acomys selousi de Winton, 1897,

Essex Farm (Essexvale), Bulawayo district, Zimbabwe.

Acomys selousi was initially considered part of the A. spinosissimus species group by some authors, and others considered it a subspecies of A. cahirinus . In a taxonomic revision of the southern African members of Acomys, N. J. Dippenaar and I. L. Rautenbach in 1986 found A. selousi morphologically and morphometrically close to the A. spinosissimus group and far from A. cahirinus . P. O. Barome and colleagues in 2001 suggested that A.selous: and A. spinosissimus could represent distinct species based on molecular grounds. W. N. Verheyen and colleagues in 2011 found A. selousi and A. transvaalensis to be synonyms but distinct from A. spinosissimus sensu stricto . Monotypic.

Distribution. E Botswana, S Zimbabwe, and N South Africa; N limits not clarified.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 78-94 mm, tail 72-96 mm, ear 13-15 mm, hindfoot 14-16-5 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Upperparts of Selous’s Spiny Mouse are rufous brown or coffee-colored; entire underside is pure white. It is unique in having a giant X-chromosome (its length represents 20% of the length of the haploid chromosome set) and high polymorphism: 2n = 59-62, FNa = 68-75.

Habitat. Isolated rock ridges (“kopjes”).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not yet assessed on The IUCN Red List. Selous’s Spiny Mouse has never been evaluated because it was always considered a synonym of A. spinosisstmus. Due to its large distribution and high number of national parks and reserves in its distribution, Selous’s Spiny Mouse could probably be classified as Least Concern.

Bibliography. Barbme et al. (2001), Denys et al. (2011), Dippenaar & Rautenbach (1986), Matthey (1965), Monadjem et al. (2015), Verheyen et al. (2011).