600. Hubert’s Multmammate Mouse Mastomys huberti

French: Mastomys de Hubert / German: Hubert-Vielzitzenmaus / Spanish: Raton multimamas de Hubert

Other common names: Hubert's Mastomys

Taxonomy. Mus huberti Wroughton, 1908, “N. Nigeria (type from Zungeru).”

Mastomys huberti was defined based on karyotypic and molecular data. Because populations from the type locality in northern Nigeria fall outside current known distribution and have not been karyotyped, huberti may turn out to be a synonym of M. natalensis . In this case, a new name would have to be applied to the species currently defined on chromosomal grounds. Monotypic.

Distribution. Mainly Senegal River Delta ( Senegal and adjacent extreme S Mauritania) and Inner NigerDelta (Mali), but also patchily in W & S Senegal and W Guinea. Descriptive notes. Head-body 74-146 mm, tail 62-120 mm, ear 14-20 mm, hindfoot 20-25 mm; weight 10-91 g. Fur of Hubert’s Multimammate Mouse is dark gray (young) to rusty brown (old) or blackish ( Senegal) above, dark below. Tail is long (c.84% of head-body length) and scaly, dark above and sometimes paler below. Forefeet and hindfeet are whitish. Females have twelve pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 32 and FN = 44-46. Habitat. Humid areas in marshes, grasslands, and agricultural fields. Food and Feeding. Stomachs of Hubert’s Multimammate Mice have contained insects, grains, leaves, stems, roots, and fruit pulp. Breeding. Breeding occurs year-round in mesic areas. Gestation is 21 days;litters have 1-27 young. Activity patterns. The Hubert’s Multimammate Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Densities of 10-108 ind/ha were recorded in the Saloum Delta in Senegal . Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Duplantier & Granjon (1988), Duplantier et al. (1996), Granjon, Cosson et al. (2005), Granjon, Duplantier et al. (1997), Granjon, Ganem et al. (1994), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Sicard et al. (1999).