Awash multimammate mouse | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
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.
The Tigray Region is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is the fifth-largest by area, the fourth-most populous, and the fifth-most densely populated of the 11 regional states.
The lanner falcon is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A large falcon, it preys on birds and bats. Most likely either the lanner or peregrine falcon was the sacred species of falcon to the ancient Egyptians, and some ancient Egyptian deities, like Ra and Horus, were often represented as a man with the head of a lanner falcon.
Dogu'a Tembien is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Nowadays, the mountainous district is part of the Southeastern Tigray Zone. The administrative centre of this woreda is Hagere Selam.
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 eight species:
The southern multimammate mouse or southern African mastomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae which is endemic to southern Africa. It is called a multimammate mouse because it can have 8 to 12 pairs of mammae, in comparison other mouse species only have 5 pairs.
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.
The Natal multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the Natal multimammate rat, the common African rat, or the African soft-furred mouse. The Natal multimammate rat is the natural host of the Lassa fever virus.
The dwarf multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only member of the genus Serengetimys; it was formerly classified in the genus Mastomys.
Shortridge's multimammate mouse is a rodent species in the family Muridae. It is native to Angola, Botswana and Namibia. Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps.
The Ethiopian striped mouse or striped-back mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is only found in Ethiopia. It was formerly classified in the monotypic genus Muriculus, but phylogenetic evidence supports Muriculus being a subgenus within Mus, the true mice. The Ethiopian striped mouse's natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Angolan multimammate mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formerly classified in the genus Myomyscus but has been reclassified into the genus Mastomys. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and moist savanna.
Verreaux's mouse or Verreaux's white-footed rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only species in the genus Myomyscus. Other species that had been previously assigned to Myomyscus are now considered to belong to the genera Mastomys, Ochromyscus, Praomys and Stenocephalemys.
The tiny fat mouse is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
The Ethiopian white-footed mouse or white-footed stenocephalemys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It lives in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Its natural habitats are tropical moist montane forest and tropical high-altitude shrubland.
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.
May Hib’o is an exclosure located in the Dogu'a Tembien woreda of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The exclosure holds a 70-metre long cave.
The May Sho’ate is a river of the Nile basin. Rising in the mountains of Dogu’a Tembien in northern Ethiopia, it flows southward to empty finally in Giba and Tekezé River.
Praomyini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Species in this tribe are found mostly throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but one species is found in North Africa, and another is found in the Arabian Peninsula.