428.

Peters’s Striped Mouse

Hybomys univittatus

French: Hybomys de Peters / German: Peters-Streifenmaus / Spanish: Ratéin listado de Peters

Other common names: Peters’'s Hybomys

Taxonomy. Mus univittatus Peters, 1876,

Dongila, Gabon.

Hybomys univittatus previously included as subspecies H. badius, H. basilii, H. lunanris, and sometimes also H. planifrons, but all of those are now recognized as distinct species. H. wunivittatus is likely a species complex comprising at least two cryptic species. It overlaps in range with H. badius in Cameroon and with H. lunarisin the Albertine Rift, but typically is found at lower

elevations than those at which those species occur. Monotypic.

Distribution. Widely distributed in Congo Basin and Albertine Rift from the Niger River in W to shores of Lake Victoria in E; an isolated population occurs in NW Zambia and neighboring DR Congo.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 117-140 mm, tail 105-121 mm, ear 15-18 mm, hindfoot 28-31 mm; weight 46-70 g. Furis soft, sleek, and long (12-14 mm), dark reddish brown to very dark brown and speckled with yellowish brown above, with one dorsal stripe (sometimes indistinct) extending from neck or shoulders to rump;belly is tawny to whitish gray and clearly demarcated in color from dorsal pelage along flanks. Tail is relatively short (¢.85% of head-body length), black, and almost naked, having rings of

very short bristles. Ears are small, rounded, and appear naked. Eyes are relatively large. Uppersurface of forefeet and hindfeet is black, soles shiny black with five metatarsal pads. Females have 1+2 = 3 pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 (Rwanda, Gabon and NW DRC), 2n = 44-46 (Cameroon), 2n = 44 (Gabon).

Habitat. Rainforest and secondary habitats where canopy gaps or disturbances create dense understory vegetation, as well as montane and gallery forests, at up to 1200 m.

Food and Feeding. Peters’s Striped Mice mainly feed on arthropods (termites, ants, beetle and fly larvae, cockroaches, myriapods), fruits, and seeds. Diet varies geographically and seasonally, fruits predominating in wet season and insects and seeds in dry season.

Breeding. Reproduction occurs throughout year in Central African Republic, but corresponds with end of wet season in eastern DR Congo. Litter size 1-6. Gestation period is 29-31 days. Femalesfirst give birth at 11-28 weeks. Males live for about twelve months.

Activity patterns. Peters’s Striped Mice are terrestrial, and both diurnal and nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Solitary individuals live in nests made of twigs and leaves located in burrows at base of trees or dead logs. They use multiple entrances, emerge in early morning, and travel ¢.500 m in a day, males being more active than females. Home ranges of males (4-5-61 ha) are larger than those of females (1-4-1-8 ha), and home ranges of one or more females may overlap with that of a male. Males attack and bite intruders in their home range.

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

Bibliography. Carleton & Robbins (1985), Duplantier (1982), Genest-Villard (1967 1978, 1980), Happold (2013a), Lecompte et al. (2005), Missoup (2010), Monadjem etal. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Petter & Genest (1967), Rahm (1970), Ray (1996), Struhsaker (1997).