The Angolan brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys angolensis'') is a species of

brush-furred mouse The brush-furred mice, genus ''Lophuromys'' are a group of rodents found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are members of the subfamily Deomyinae, a group only identifiable through molecular analysis. ''Lophuromys'' is also known as the brush-furr ...

found in Angola and the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Morphology

The species has a dark color coat with stiff textured fur. Its overall body built is a stubby body with short legs, however it is slightly more slender and long than ''L. sikapusi''. The tail length of ''L. angolensis'' is on average 75mm, 6mm longer than ''L. sikapusi''. Between the male and females, there is very little sexual dimorphism. ''L. angolensis'' has an average weight of 80% of ''L. sikapusi'', which weighs on average from 45 to 90 grams. ''L. angolensis'' can be distinguished from ''L. sikapusi'' by its more slender and shorter rostrum, its somewhat narrower

braincase In human anatomy, the neurocranium, also known as the braincase, brainpan, or brain-pan is the upper and back part of the skull, which forms a protective case around the brain. In the human skull, the neurocranium includes the calvaria or skul ...

, and its more slender and somewhat shorter upper and lower dental arches. ''L. angolensis'' is somewhat smaller than ''L. sikapusi'' and ''L. ansorgei'' in all craniometrical measures except for its smallest interorbital breadth, its greatest breadth of choanae, and its depth of upper incisor, in which it equals the size of ''L. sikapusi'' and ''L. ansorgei''.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as ''

Lophuromys sikapusi The rusty-bellied brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys sikapusi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equ ...

'' until 2000, when Walter Verheyen, Theo Diercxk, and Jan Hulselmans released a study describing it as a distinct species, ''Lophuromys angolensis''.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q1873415 Lophuromys Mammals described in 2000