Awash Mastomys
Mastomys awashensis Lavrenchenko, Likhnova & Baskevich, 1998
Also calledAwash-Vielzitzenmaus (deu) · Mastomys de Awash (fra) · Souris à mammelles multiples d’Awash (fra) · myszorówka awaszańska (pol) · アワッシュタチチマウス (jpn)
First described in: In Lavrenchenko et al., 1998a, Z. Säugetierk. vol.63 p.44
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.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
discussion
Discussion: This species occurs with M. natalensis and M. erythroleucus in the same region. Karyotype of M. awashensis (2 n = 32, FNa = 54, Lavrenchenko et al., 1998 a; or 2 n = 32, FNa = 52, Volobouev et al., 2002 b) is dissimilar to that of M. erythroleucus (2 n = 38, FN = 50) and resembles karyotype of M. natalensis from the Ethiopian Rift Valley (2 n = 32, FNa = 54 - 56), but the two are distinguished by frequency of metacentric and submetacentric elements, form of the Y-chromosome, and C-banding pattern (Baskevich and Orlov, 1993; Lavrenchenko et al., 1998 a). Analyses of allozymic and morphometric data indicate M. awashensis is more closely related to M. erythroleucus than to M. natalensis, but M. awashensis and M. natalensis are more similar in chromosomal traits and configuration of tail scales; in glans penis morphology, M. awashensis differs from either of the other species, which are similar in that character complex (Lavrenchenko and Baskevich, 1996; Lavrenchenko et al., 1998 a). Mastomys awashensis shares a common fixed hemoglobin electromorph with South African M. coucha, different from that found in Ethiopian M. natalensis and M. erythroleucus (Lavrenchenko et al., 1
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
distribution
Distribution: Apparently endemic to the Ethiopian Rift Valley where it " is confined to a small part of the Upper Awash Valley " (Lavrenchenko et al., 1998 a: 48). All known examples were captured at the E bank of Koka Lake and Awash National Park where they inhabit Awash riverbank vegetated by Acacia-Commiphora thornbush with high grass, and adjacent agricultural habitats.
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
materials_examined
Type Locality: Ethiopia, " collected at the bank of the Awash River near Koka Lake " (Lavrenchenko et al., 1998 a: 46), 08 E 23 ' N 39 E 09 ' E.
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
biology_ecology
Habitat. Acacia (Acacia, Fabaceae) commiphera (Commiphora, Burseraceae) savanna and adjacent agriculturalfields. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. The Awash Multimammate Mouse is presumably nocturnal. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Muridae
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is also considered as a pest for grain crops.
What it does
The species' ecology has been studied in detail in the croplands of the Degua Tembien district in Tigray, 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.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Mastomys awashensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 4264821.