477.

Griselda Striped Grass Mouse

Lemniscomys griselda

French: Rat-rayé d’/Angola / German: Griselda-Streifengrasmaus / Spanish: Raton de hierba listado de Griselda

Other common names: Griselda Lemniscomys

Taxonomy. Arvicanthis dorsalis griselda Thomas, 1904,

“Muene Coshi, Jinga Country [Angola].”

Lemniscomys griselda previously included L. rosalia, which was separated on basis of morphometrics; the two taxa overlap, however, in morphometric characters and may be conspecific. Critical revision, employing molecular and chromosomal data (currently lacking), is urgently required. Monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to Angola and neighboring parts of DR Congo and NW Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 116-138 mm, tail 118-149 mm, hindfoot 28-30 mm. No weight information is available. Fur of the Griselda Striped Grass Mouse is coarse gray brown above, contrasting with pure white below, with black mid-dorsalstripe extending from neck to base of tail. Tail is long (100% of head-body length), dark, and sparsely haired. Ears medium-sized. Yellowish eye-ring is present. Forefeet have first and fifth digits greatly reduced, and hindfeetfirst and fifth digits also are reduced.

Habitat. Little is known, but presumed to occupy miombo ( Brachystegia, Fabaceae) woodlands that predominate on Angolan Plateau.

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 List.

Bibliography. Ansell (1978), Crawford-Cabral (1998), Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Van der Straeten (1980a).