- Home
- Rhabdomys dilectus
Rhabdomys dilectus
Order: Rodentia > Family: Muridae > Genus: Rhabdomys > Species: Rhabdomys dilectus
Common Name: Mesic Four-striped Grass Rat [English]
Type Description
Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1896:803.
Type Locality
NE Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Mazowe.
Measurements
Head and body: 90-135 mm
Tail length: 80-135 mm
Weight: 30-40 g
Tail length: 80-135 mm
Weight: 30-40 g
Description
The four stripes on the back of this beautiful rodent distinguish it from others. Rhabdomys is a common resident of the grasslands of some of the mountains in Tanzania.
Distribution
Found at altitudes up to 3,500 m, Rhabdomys dilectus is distributed throughout cooler grasslands, moorlands and sub-alpine zones over the southern part of Africa from Angola down to South Africa and up to Tanzania and southern Kenya. (Kingdon, 1984, 1997)
Key References
1. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 212.
2. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1344-1346, 1595-1596.
3. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.
2. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1344-1346, 1595-1596.
3. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.