549.

Thomas's Mouse

Mus sorella

French: Souris de Thomas / German: Thomas-Zwergmaus / Spanish: Raton de Thomas

Other common names: Sorella Pygmy Mouse

Taxonomy. Leggada sorella Thomas, 1909,

“Kirui, [Mount] Elgon. Alt. 6000 ft [= 1830 m],” western Kenya.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Scattered in N Cameroon, N Central African Republic, NE &S DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, N Tanzania, C & E Angola, and N Zambia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51-73 mm, tail 34-46 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 12-14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Small mouse with short tail. Furis soft, dark grayish brown above, and pure white below, extending onto the flanks; upper lips, lower cheeks, chin, throat and chest pure white. Tail is short (c.65% of head—body length). Ears are long and dark brown, with small postauricular white spot. Feet are white. Females have four pairs of nipples. Members of the M. sorella species group are distinguished by their proodont INCisors.

Habitat. Savanna grassland and woodland, especially where grass is long.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Thomas’s Mice are nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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

Bibliography. Happold (2013a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Petter (1981), Verheyen (1965b).