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Lemniscomys zebra Heuglin, 1864

Order: Rodentia > Family: Muridae > Genus: Lemniscomys > Species: Lemniscomys zebra Heuglin, 1864

Common Name: Heuglin's Lemniscomys [English]

Type Description

Beit. Zool. Cent.-Afrika's Leopoldina, 31:10.

Type Locality

Sudan, Bahr el Ghazal (Carleton and Van der Straeten, 1997, provided additional information).

Measurements

Head and body: 90-118 mm
Tail length: 95-133 mm
Hindfoot length: 22-26 mm
Weight: 23-41 g

Description

This rodent has several prominent continuous black stripes down the midline of the back that are not interrupted with spots, a bicoloured tail and a white belly.

Comparisons

The only other rodents with several black stripes down the back are Lemniscomys striatus (where the stripes are interrupted with spots) or Rhabdomys (where there are only four stripes; L. zebra has more than four stripes).

Distribution

Lemniscomys zebra is found in the drier savannas and steppes that border the Sahara south from Senegal across the continent to the Sudan and down to Tanzania. (Kingdon, 1984, 1997) This species has been recorded in variety of dry rocky habitats within Tanzania.

Key References

1. Kingdon, J. 1984. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Hares and Rodents). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2B:617-622.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 212-213.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1344-1346, 1596-1597.
4. 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.