Ivory Coast Dephomys

discussion

REMARKS The male specimen from Serengbara MNHN-ZM- 2021 - 1694 (SER 167) displayed the typical aspect of the genus, with a wooly pelage of grey-brown colour, a very long tail with a tiny tuft, short ears and long hindfeet. Its karyotype (2 N = 42, NFa = 52 or 54) is identical to that known for D. eburneae described by Tranier & Dosso (1979) from Adiopodoumé in Côte d’Ivoire. Looking at external standard measurements we can see that the newly collected specimen of clade B have a smaller hind foot length compared to clade A and this is also visible in old MNHN karyotyped specimens (Table 7). However, our sample here is too small to acknowledge this size difference for species discrimination. The skull is long with a large braincase that is defined by a well-marked supraorbital crest. Frontal bones are flat while nasals and parietal bones are raised. The nasal bone is long, ending above the short proodont incisors. The tympanic bullae are very small compared to the size of the skull (between 3.87 mm and 4.89 mm). The glenoid foramen is round and well visible above the tympanic bullae. The palate is short ending just after the upper M 3. Specimen MNHN-ZM- 2021 - 1694 (SER 167) is adult

Annotated checklist of rodents from a biodiversity hotspot, Mount Nimba (West Africa)

discussion

Discussion: Originally described as a subspecies of defua (see discussion in Rosevear, 1969), but shown to be a separate species by Van der Straeten (1984). Part of the murine fauna endemic to West Africa (see account of Grammomys buntingi). Chromosomal data from Côte d’Ivoire sample reported by Tranier and Dosso (1979).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: Records are from Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia (specimens in USNM); may occur in SW Ghana (Grubb et al., 1998).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

activity

Activity patterns. Ivory Coast Defua Rats are presumably nocturnal and possibly partly arboreal.

Muridae