Dasymys alleni (Lawrence & Loveridge, 1953)
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6868677 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-34B9-FF08-E19F-2801740E8BBF |
treatment provided by |
Carolina |
scientific name |
Dasymys alleni |
status |
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Glover Allen’s Shaggy Rat
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 View in CoL ,
“Ilolo, Rungwe Mountain, Tanganyika Territory [= Tanza- nial.”
Dasymys alleni is apparently distinguished from other East African species by cra- niometric 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. View Figure
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).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.