Fukomys whytei

15.

Whyte’s Mole-rat

Fukomys whytei

French: Bathyergue de Whyte / German: Malawi-Graumull / Spanish: Rata topo de Whyte

Other common names: Malawian Mole-rat

Taxonomy. Georychus whyte: Thomas, 1897,

Karonga, Lake Nynsa, Nyasaland (= Malawi).

Although FE whytei was placed as a subspecies in Cryptomys hottentotus, recent molecular, morphological, and chromosomal data place it as a distinct species of Fukomys. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Malawi, but it may also occur in NE Zambia and SE Tanzania.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 129-9-156-6 mm (males) and 140-1-146-9 mm (females), tail 15-6-19-8 mm (males) and 15-9-18-5 mm (females); weight 110-4-155-9 g (males) and 110-8-132-2 g (females). Whyte’s Mole-rat is medium-sized. It is gray-buff and does not have a distinct head spot. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 46, FN = 76.

Habitat. Hard soils in woodlands at elevations of 500-1760 m with average annual rainfall of 1227 mm.

Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under Cryptomys hottentotus). Data are deficient for an accurate determination of the conservation status of Whyte’s Mole-rat.

Bibliography. Bennett & Faulkes (2000), Burda et al. (2005), Lange & Burda (2005), Lévy et al. (2012), Monadjem et al. (2015).