Rhabdomys dilectus

494.

Mesic Four-striped Grass Rat

Rhabdomys dilectus

French: Rhabdomys des montagnes / German: Schone Vierstreifengrasmaus / Spanish: Rata de hierba de cuatro listas mésico

Other common names: Mesic Rhabdomys

Taxonomy. Arvicanthis pumilio dilectus de Winton, 1897,

“Mazoe (= Mazowe), Mashonaland,” E Zimbabwe.

Rhabdomys dilectus was recently split from R. pumilio on molecular grounds; it occurs parapatrically with latter species and with R. bechuanae, R. chakae, and R. intermedius. Monotypic.

Distribution. Occurs patchily in montane habitats from SE Uganda and highlands of C Kenya S through Tanzania, SE DR Congo, Malawi, and Zimbabwe to NE South Africa; an isolated population occurs on plateau of Angola.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 91-126 mm, tail 72-90 mm, ear 10-20 mm, hindfoot 18-24 mm; weight 30-47 g. The Mesic Fourstriped Grass Rat is a smallrodent with longitudinal black and cream stripes is similar morphologically to other species of Rhabdomys. Fur is coarse, yellowish brown to speckled buff above, paler below. It lacks mid-dorsalstripe, but has two lateral cream-colored broad stripes, each bordered by two black stripes, extending from between ears to base oftail. Head is of same color as back, with black median stripe from between ears to between eyes. Nose, chin, throat, and abdomen are palerthan dorsum. Ears are densely covered with short reddish-brown hairs. Forefeet are paler than dorsal fur, soles darkly pigmented. Tail is comparatively short (c.75% of head-body length), sparsely haired, bicolored, black above and yellowish brown or gray below. Females have 2+2 = 4 pairs of nipples. Karyotype 2n = 38, 46, or 48.

Habitat. Mostly confined to montane grasslands and wetlands and Afro-alpine habitats at up to 2700 m.

Food and Feeding. In E Zimbabwe Highlands, diet comprised mostly leaves and stems of grasses and dicotyledonous seeds, but also insects (mostly termites, Isoptera).

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Mesic Fourstriped Grass Rats are terrestrial, and diurnal and crepuscular.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In mesic grassland habitats, Mesic Fourstriped Grass Rats are solitary and territorial. Densities vary greatly, from 2 ind/ ha to 34 ind/ha.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Castiglia et al. (2012), Churchfield (1985), Du Toit et al. (2012), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Willan (1982).