551.

Delicate Mouse

Mus tenellus

French: Souris délicate / German: Zierliche Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton delicado

Taxonomy. Leggada tenella Thomas, 1903,

“Roseres [= Roseires], Blue Nile,” Sudan

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Taxonomy, identification, and distribution confused. According to the 2014 findings ofJ. Bryja and colleagues, Tanzanian records should be attributed to a distinct species, M. gerbillus, which is currently included within the synonymy of the present species. Also, in 2005, G. G.Musser and M. D. Carleton concluded that many of the Ethiopian records normally attributed to M. tenellus (and possibly other mapped records from Somalia and Sudan) are apparently misidentified M. minutoides . For the present work, we plot all records from the works of the teams of D. C. D. Happold in 2013 and A. Monadjem in 2015. Monotypic.

Distribution. Widespread in Ethiopia and very patchy in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-62 mm, tail 34-43 mm, ear 8-10 mm, hindfoot 12—-14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Small mouse with short tail. Fur is sandy above and pure white below, extending onto the chin and throat. Tail is short (¢.70% of head-body length). Ears short and gray, with extensive postauricular white patches, which may extend around the base of each ear (more than in any other species of Mus). Feet white. Females have four pairs of nipples.

Habitat. Grass steppe with clumps of thicket, occurring at elevations of 600-2000 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Bryja, Mikula, Sumbera et al. (2014), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Petter (1972c), Yalden et al. (1976).