Tiny fat mouse

Last updated

Tiny fat mouse
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Nesomyidae
Genus: Steatomys
Species:
S. parvus
Binomial name
Steatomys parvus
Rhoads, 1896

The tiny fat mouse (Steatomys parvus) 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.

Contents

It favours sandy and cultivated areas, rocky hills, open woodland and grassy plains. The depth of its burrow varies between a minimum of 40 cm and one metre; the burrow contains few passageways, with a central chamber filled with fibers and grass. [2]

Ecology

The tiny fat mouse is part of an assemblage of small mammals in open Acacia woodland. The most abundant rodent in this habitat is the African grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), followed by the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis). The shrews Crocidura spp. were also abundant as were the fat mice (Steatomys spp.), Gerbils (Gerbilliscus spp.), tree mice (Dendromus spp.), pouched rats (Saccostomus spp.) and mice in the subgenus Nannomys. [3]

In Terminalia woodland, characterised by the trees Terminalia mollis and Combretum molle and various shrubs, a different community of small mammals is found. Here the Natal multimammate mouse is the most common species, with the tiny fat mouse, Kaiser's rock rat (Aethomys kaiseri) and the Barbary striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys barbarus) also plentiful. [3]

Status

The tiny fat mouse has a very wide range across much of Central and southern Africa. The population is presumed to be large and appears to be stable. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the conservation status of this mouse as being of "least concern". [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesomyidae</span> Family of rodents

The Nesomyidae are a family of African rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes several subfamilies, all of which are native to either continental Africa or to Madagascar. Included in this family are Malagasy rodents, climbing mice, African rock mice, swamp mice, pouched rats, and the white-tailed rat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dendromurinae</span> Subfamily of rodents

Dendromurinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Nesomyidae and superfamily Muroidea. The dendromurines are currently restricted to Africa, as is the case for all extant members of the family Nesomyidae. The authorship of the subfamily has been attributed to both Alston, 1876, and (incorrectly) to G. M. Allen, 1939.

The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys 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, a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natal multimammate mouse</span> Species of mammal

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 northwestern fat mouse is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is native to tropical West Africa where it occurs on grassland and crop land.

<i>Steatomys</i> Genus of rodents

Steatomys is a genus of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It contains the following species:

The dainty fat mouse is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

The fat mouse is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Basin pocket mouse</span> Species of rodent

The Great Basin pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in British Columbia in Canada and the western United States.

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. In addition, one fossil genus (Karnimata) is known, which inhabited India and Pakistan during the Late Miocene.

References

  1. 1 2 Schlitter, D.; Monadjem, A. (2017). "Steatomys parvus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T20721A22233188. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T20721A22233188.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Kokwaro, J. O. & Johns, T. (1998). Luo Biological Dictionary. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers. p. 234.
  3. 1 2 Sinclair, Anthony R. E.; Metzget, Kristine L.; Mduma, Simon A. R.; Fryxell, John M., eds. (2015). Serengeti IV: Sustaining Biodiversity in a Coupled Human-Natural System. University of Chicago Press. pp. 323–324. ISBN   978-0-226-19616-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.