462.

Gray-headed Thicket Rat

Grammomys caniceps

French: Grammomys a téte grise / German: Graukopf-Akazienmaus / Spanish: Rata de matorral de cabeza gris

Other common names: Gray-headed Grammomys

Taxonomy. Grammomys caniceps Hutterer & Dieterlen, 1984,

Malindi, Kenya .

Grammomys caniceps was previously included in G. dolichurus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Occurs in a narrow coastal strip from S Somalia S to Malindi in E Kenya.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 86-105 mm, tail 147-155 mm, ear 14-17 mm, hindfoot 19-22 mm; weight 18-40 g. Fur of the Gray-headed Thicket Rat is grayish

brown with scattered black hairs above, with bright cinnamon rump, and sharply demarcated pure white belly. Tail is very long (150% of head-body length) and semi-pre-hensile, with short dark brown bristles, and with terminal tuft of white hairs. Ears are large and covered with short brown hairs, and a white post-auricular spot extends onto back of head. Feet are white, with four digits on forefoot and five on relatively short hindfoot,the fifth digit longer and semi-opposable. Females have either 2+1 = 3 pairs or 1+1 = 2 pairs of nipples. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 54-61 and FN = 78.

Habitat. Probably dry coastal savanna including acacia trees ( Acacia, Fabaceae).

Food and Feeding. In captivity, Gray-headed Thicket Rats fed on seeds,fruit, and insect larvae.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Gray-headed Thicket RatS are presumed to be nocturnal and arboreal. They are known to build bowl-like nests in acacia trees.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Captive-bred individuals were tolerant toward each other and lived in groups of 5-10 in one cage.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red Lust.

Bibliography. Hutterer & Dieterlen (1984), Roche et al. (1984).