463.

Mount Kenya Thicket Rat

Grammomys gigas

French: Grammomys géant / German: Mount-Kenya-Akazienmaus / Spanish: Rata de matorral del Monte Kenia

Other common names: Giant Grammomys, Giant Thicket Rat, Mount Kenya Grammomys

Taxonomy. 7 Thamnomys gigas Dollman, 1911,

“Solai, Mt. Kenia, [Kenya]. Altitude 9000 ft [= 2740 m].”

Grammomys gigas is known only from the holotype, skull of which is larger than that of any other Grammomys, although body measurements overlap with those of G. ibeanus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from Mt Kenya, C Kenya.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 100130 mm, tail 142-177 mm, ear 15-21 mm, hindfoot 22-28 mm; weight 30-59 g. The Mount Kenya Thicket Rat’s fur is olive gray above,becoming brighter orange brown on rump, with sharply demarcated white belly tinted with pink. Tail is very long (152% of head-body length), semi-prehensile, and tufted. Feet are buff, with four digits on forefoot and five on relatively short hindfoot,fifth digit longer and semi-opposable. Habitat. Little is known, but presumably similar to that of the East African Thicket Rat (G. beanus).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Mount Kenya Thicket Rats are presumably nocturnal and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Dollman (1911a), Monadjem et al. (2015)