57.

Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rat

Uranomys ruddi

French: Uranomys de Rudd / German: Weibauch-Birstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje erizado de Rudd

Other common names: Rudd's Mouse, White-bellied Brush-furred Rat

Taxonomy. Uranomys ruddi Dollman, 1909,

“Kirui, [Mt] Elgon, British East Africa [= Kenya]. Altitude 6000 feet [= 1820 m].”

Despite some chromosomal variability, Uranomys is still considered monotypic, and only one widespread species is recognized. Initially considered as a Murinae, U. rudd: was then placed with Deomyinae close to Acomys . Morphological variability of U. ruddi has resulted in as many as seven species being named, but they have been synonymized with U. ruddi . Monotypic.

Distribution. Disjunct in W, C & E Africa, from S Senegal E to SW Ethiopia and S to extreme E Zimbabwe and C Mozambique.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 95-119 mm, tail 60-73 mm, ear 10-15 mm, hindfoot 16-19 mm; weight 26-43 g. Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rat has a shorttail (¢.60% of head— body length), pure white belly, and dorsum with short and stiff hairs of variable color (gray to yellow-brown). It has short limbs and three pectoral plus three inguinal pairs of mammae. Skin is thin and fragile, and tail is easily broken. Skull is similar to that of species of Acomys by having elongated palatine bone covering pterygoid fossae. Lateral view of skull is much higher than those of Acomys, which is flatter and upper incisors are proodont. Molars are very similar to Acomys .

Habitat. Grasslands with few trees and moist soils (even semi-swampy and along riverbanks), cultivated and fallow fields, and oil palm plantations. Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rats were caught in grassland savanna and fallow and cultivated fields in Ivory Coast, close to a river in West Guinea, in farmland and grassy swamp in Nigeria, and near dense stands of Pennisetum grass in Sierra Leone.

Food and Feeding. Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rat is considered primarily insectivorous. It eats insects ( Diptera larvae and young) and tubercles (cassava and bulbs).

Breeding. Female Rudd's Bristle-furred Rats can have 2-6 embryos (average 3-2). Pregnancy occurs throughout the year, except in early dry season in Ivory Coast, and there is a peak during late wet season. Females mature when they weigh 22 g.

Activity patterns. Rudd’s Bristle-furred Ratis primarily nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Patterns of abundance of Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rats in Lamto savanna, Ivory Coast, suggested that they live in colonies, but nothing specific is known about social organization or home range size. Burrows have a single spherical gallery (10-15 cm in diameter) situated 12-15 cm underground, a deeper oblique gallery 30-40 cm underground, and 1-2 galleries connecting to the soil surface, one closed by a mound of soil and the other closed when an individual is inside.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Rudd’s Bristle-furred Rats is wide spread and can be locally abundant.

Bibliography. Bellier (1968), Denys & Michaux (1992), Denys, Lalis et al. (2009), Gautun (1975), Granjon & Duplantier (2009), Grubb et al. (1998), Monadjem et al. (2015), Hanney (1965), Happold (1974, 2013m, 2013n), Musser & Carleton (2005).