Grammomys cometes (Thomas & Wroughton, 1908)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 536-884 : 766

467.

Mozambique Thicket Rat

Grammomys cometes

French: Grammomys du Mozambique / German: Mosambik-Akazienmaus / Spanish: Rata de matorral de Mozambique

Other common names: Mozambique Grammomys, Mozambique Woodland Mouse

Taxonomy. Thamnomys cometes Thomas & Wroughton, 1908 ,

Inhambane, Mozam-bique.

Grammomys comeles was previously combined with G. beanus from East Africa, but was restricted to south of Zambezi River by G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005.Its closest relative is G. dolichurus . Monotypic.

Distribution. E parts of SAfrica from Mozambique just S ofZambezi River S to Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.

Descriptive notes. This species and the East African Thicket Rat (G. beanus) are the largest members of genus. The Mozambique Thicket Rat has head-body 112-124 mm, tail 142-194 mm, ear 17-20 mm, hindfoot 23-25 mm; weight c.52 g. Fur is short,silky, and reddish brown above, with sharply demarcated pure white belly. Tail is very long (120-160% of head-body length) and semi-prehensile, with terminal tuft of hairs. Ears usually have a white post-auricular spot. There are four digits on forefoot and five digits on relatively short hindfoot, thefifth digit longer and semi-opposable. Females have either 0+2 = 2 or 142 = 3 pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 52, FN = 62.

Habitat. Coastal, riverine, and montane forests.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. One female had three embryos.

Activity patterns. Mozambique Thicket Rats are nocturnal and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. De Graaff (1981), KryStufek, Baxter et al. (2008), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Taylor (1998).

Figures

441. Grayish-brown Shaggy Rat (Dasymys griseifrons), 442. Fox’s Shaggy Rat (Dasymys foxi), 443. Mount Cameroon Shaggy Rat (Dasymys longipilosus), 444. West African Shaggy Rat (Dasymys rufulus), 445. Rwenzori Shaggy Rat (Dasymys montanus), 446. Glover Allen’s Shaggy Rat (Dasymys alleni), 447. Middle Shaggy Rat (Dasymys medius), 448. Rwandan Shaggy Rat (Dasymys rwandae), 449. Tanzanian Shaggy Rat (Dasymys sua), 450. Crawford-Cabral’s Shaggy Rat (Dasymys cabrali), 451. Angolan Shaggy Rat (Dasymys nudipes), 452. Roberts’s Shaggy Rat (Dasymys robertsu), 453. Cape Shaggy Rat (Dasymys capensis), 454. African Shaggy Rat (Dasymys incomtus), 455. Ethiopian Thicket Rat (Grammomys minnae), 456. Arid Woodland Thicket Rat (Grammomys aridulus), 458. Western Rainforest Thicket Rat (Grammomys poensis), 460. Eastern Rainforest Thicket Rat (Grammomys kuru), 461. Short-snouted Thicket Rat (Grammomys brevirostris), 462. Gray-headed Thicket Rat (Grammomys caniceps), 463. [MISSING], 465. Macmillan’s Thicket Rat (Grammomys macmillani), 466. Selous’s Thicket Rat (Grammomys selousi), 467. Mozambique Thicket Rat (Grammomys cometes), 468. Woodland Thicket Rat (Grammomys dolichurus)

Distribution. E parts of SAfrica from Mozambique just S ofZambezi River S to Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.