Grammomys cometes

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).