| Typical striped grass mouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kakamega Forest, Kenya | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Lemniscomys |
| Species: | L. striatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lemniscomys striatus | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Mus striatusLinnaeus, 1758 Contents | |
The typical striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys striatus) is a small rodent of the suborder Myomorpha in the family Muridae.
Lemniscomys striatus comprises a complex of various similar species. [2] Furthermore, there are about eleven different species of striped grass mouse, of which Lemniscomys barbarus and Lemniscomys striatus are the two most frequently encountered in captivity.
The species is divided into the following six subspecies:
Lemniscomys striatus is a small rodent, with the length of the head and the body between 93 and 142 mm, the length of the tail between 92 and 155 mm, the length of the foot between 20.5 and 32 mm, the length of the ears between 14 and 17.5 mm and a weight up to 68 g. [4] The average adult weight is 42.3g. [5]
Its back is blackish-brown, with pale dorsal stripes extended up to the base of the tail and rows of small pale spots on each side of the body. The ventral parts are whitish, with yellowish reflections on the abdomen and chest. Its feet are brownish. Its tail is longer than the head and the body and it is darker above and clearer below. Females have two pairs of pectoral breasts and two inguinal pairs. The karyotype is 2n = 43–44, FN = 58-68-72-74.
The female reaches sexual maturity at around 168 days, the gestation period is about twenty-five days, and the average number of mice in a litter is 4.54. [5]
The lifespan of the typical striped grass mouse is short. In the wild, they generally do not live much past their first breeding season, but in captivity they may live longer. The maximum age documented for a typical striped grass mouse in captivity is 4.8 years. [5]
This species is native to Central and Western Africa. It is widespread in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, DRCongo, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. [1]
This species lives in deforested areas, grasslands, secondary forest and savanna up to 1,700 meters above sea level.
Lemniscomys, sometimes known as striped grass mice or zebra mice, is a genus of murine rodents from Africa. Most species are from Sub-Saharan Africa; L. barbarus is the only one found north of the Sahara. They are generally found in grassy habitats, but where several species overlap in distribution there is a level of habitat differentiation between them.
Bellier's lemniscomys or Bellier's striped grass mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, and possibly Sierra Leone. Its natural habitat is typically a dry savanna region.
Griselda's lemniscomys or Griselda's striped grass mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
Lemniscomys linulus, commonly known as the Senegal grass mouse or Senegal one-striped grass mouse, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal and its natural habitat is dry savanna. At one time considered to be a subspecies of Lemniscomys griselda, it is now accepted as a species in its own right.
Mittendorf's lemniscomys or Mittendorf's striped grass mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Cameroon where it is found at high elevations on a single mountain. Its natural habitat is tropical high-altitude grassland. It faces no particular threats and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being of "least concern".
The single-striped grass mouse or single-striped lemniscomys is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
Rosevear's lemniscomys or Rosevear's striped grass mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Zambia and possibly Angola, where its natural habitat is cryptosephalum dry forest. The species is threatened by habitat loss.
Heuglin's lemniscomys or Heuglin's striped grass mouse is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and possibly Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, and plantations.
The rusty-bellied brush-furred rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, arable land, and pastureland.
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 yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
The Barbary striped grass mouse is a small rodent of the suborder Myomorpha. This monotypic species is native to coastal Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in northwest Africa. In the past it was believed to also occur throughout a large part of Sub-Saharan Africa, but these populations are now treated as a separate species, the Heuglin's striped grass mouse. These relatively small Lemniscomys are among the species most commonly kept in captivity.
Arvicanthini is a tribe of muroid rodents in the subfamily Murinae. Almost all recent species in this tribe are or were found in Africa aside from one species, the Indian bush rat, which is found in South Asia and Iran. However, some fossil Golunda species from India and the genus Parapelomys are thought to have also occurred outside Africa, and one species in the fossil genus Saidomys may have also occurred in Afghanistan.
