8.

Louise’s Spiny Mouse

Acomys louisae

French: Acomys de Louise / German: Louise-Stachelmaus / Spanish: Raton espinoso de Louise

Taxonomy. Acomys louisae Thomas, 1896,

40 mi (64-5 km) south of Berbera, Soma-lia.

Acomys louisae was placed in subgenus Peracomys by F. Petter and J. Roche in 1981 and extracted from the A. subspinosus species group based on dental characteristics; its validity as a species was later confirmed by broader morphological grounds. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

A.l.louisaeThomas,1896—SSomaliaandextremeEKenya.

A. l. umbratus Thomas, 1923 — S Djibouti and N Somalia.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 79-95 mm, tail 86-104 mm, ear 12-15 mm, hindfoot 16 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Louise’s Spiny Mouse is one of the smallest species of Acomys . Tail is 109% of head-body length. Dorsum is brown or grayish brown, with dull brown spines. Belly is pure white, with soft hairs well demarcated from flanks, which are similar to back. Limbs and feet are also white. Presence of t7 cusp on M' and M* is diagnostic.

Habitat. Somali-Masai bushland from coastal plain to elevations of ¢.1500 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Louise’s Spiny Mouse is terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Denys et al. (1994), Dieterlen (2013f), Petter (1983), Petter & Roche (1981).