36.

Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rat

Lophuromys kilonzoi

French: Rat-hérissé de Kilonzo / German: Kilonzo-Blrstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo de Kilonzo

Taxonomy. Lophuromys kilonzoi W. N. Verheyen et al, 2007,

Magamba (04.45° S-38.17° E; altitude 1550 m), Tanzania.

Lophuromys kilonzoi was recently named as a new species and belongs to the L. flavopunctatus “clade.” Some molecular analyses placed it in an Ethiopian-Tanzanian subclade including L. brunneus, L. aquilus, and L. verhageni . Monotypic.

Distribution. Usambara and Uluguru Mts, E Tanzania.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 115-139 mm, tail 50-94 mm, ear 15-5=21-7 mm, hindfoot 19-24 mm; weight 40-74 g. Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Ratis externally similar to the Buff-spotted Brush-furred Rat ( L. flavopunctatus). Dorsum is speckled dark reddish brown, and venter is pale brown or cinnamon. Tail is 50-70% of head-body length. Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rat is larger than Verhagen’s Brush-furred Rat ( L. verhageni) from Mount Meru and has longer ears and shorter hindfeet than the Dark-colored Brush-furred Rat ( L. aquilus) from Mount Kilimandjaro. Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rat has same speckled pelage and other characteristics as species in the L. flavopunctatus species group but has a diploid number of 2n = 68. Molecular and craniometric characteristics also distinguish it from similar species.

Habitat. Rainforest or fallow land.

Food and Feeding. Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rat eats soil-dwelling invertebrates.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Little is known, but populations of Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rats decline from dry to rainy seasons.

Status and Conservation. Not yet assessed on The IUCN Red List. Kilonzo’s Brush-furred Rat is rarely captured.

Bibliography. Laudisoit et al. (2009), Monadjem etal. (2015), Verheyen et al. (2007).