Awash multimammate mouse | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Muridae |
Genus: | Mastomys |
Species: | M. awashensis |
Binomial name | |
Mastomys awashensis Lavrenchenko, Likhnova & Baskevich, 1998 | |
The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (Mastomys awashensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in Ethiopia. Phylogentically the Awash multimammate mouse is the sister taxon of the Natal multimammate mouse (M. natalensis), a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range. [2]
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and arable land. [3] It is threatened by habitat loss. It is also considered as a pest for grain crops. [4]
The species' ecology has been studied in detail in the croplands of the Degua Tembien district in Tigray, [2] where it commonly occurs in crop fields, domestic and peri-domestic habitats in wider altitudinal range (1500 m up to 2700 m). Being a nocturnal and burrowing species, it prefers crop fields with vertisols. Likewise, the multimammate mouse possibly contributes to a significant portion to the rodent diet of night-active raptors such as Barn owl.
Tigray Region, officially the National Regional State of Tigray, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama people. Tigray is also known as Region 1 according to the federal constitution. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fifth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 10 Regional States.
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The African grass rat is a species of rodent in the family Murinae.
Mastomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. It contains these species:
The Guinea multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, and irrigated land. They weigh between 12 and 105 grams.
Hubert's multimammate mouse, or Hubert's mastomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, and possibly Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Niger. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land.
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Morogoro virus is an East African arenavirus infecting the multimammate mouse. The virus is genetically closely related to Lassa virus, known to cause Lassa fever in humans. Morogoro virus, however, does not seem to infect humans. Transmission of Morogoro virus between mice is assumed to occur via direct and indirect contact. Infected animals pass a latent period of 7 days and subsequently shed the virus for about 30 days, after which they recover and develop lifelong antibodies. Transmission may also be possible from infected mothers to offspring and through sexual contact, as this has been suggested for other arenaviruses.
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