The montane hylomyscus or montane wood mouse (''Hylomyscus denniae'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

in the family Muridae. A long-coated species with brownish-grey upper parts and whitish-grey underparts, it occurs in the uplands of tropical Central Africa where its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is tropical moist montane forests.

Description

This species is one of the largest wood mice in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

, growing to a head-and-body length of about with a tail of . The fur is dense and long, the top of the head and the dorsal surface of the body being dark brownish-grey, each individual hair being grey with a brown tip. The flanks are similar in colour, but with a slight rufous tinge, and the underside of the head and the ventral surface of the body are whitish-grey, each individual hair being grey with a white tip. The whiskers are long and black, the large eyes are surrounded by short black hairs, and there is a rufous patch between the eyes and ears. The upper sides of the legs are white and there are small white tufts of hairs on the digits of the hind feet. The tail is about 140% of the length of head-and-body and is nearly hairless, ringed by small scales and clad in short dark bristles.

Distribution and habitat

The montane wood mouse has a widespread distribution across tropical Central Africa. It is found in a number of separate populations in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, Burundi,

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, Rwanda,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

, and possibly

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

. It occurs in moist forests, mostly at altitudes between , but down to about in Angola and Zambia. It is restricted to the montane forest zone and does not occur above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

in the Afro-montane grassland zone.

Ecology

Its lifestyle is nocturnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

. A nest is constructed in a hole in a tree, and its long tail and small hind feet seem to be adaptations for climbing among the branches, vines and foliage. The diet consists of mainly green plant material obtained in trees and on the ground, but also of insects, other invertebrates, seeds and fruit. Breeding takes place during most of the year but most frequently occurs in the dry season and at the start of the wet season, between about July and September. The average litter size is 4.5 offspring, with the largest litters occurring in the dry season. Both females and males become mature when they weigh about .

Status

''H. denniae'' has a very wide range, no particular threats have been recognised and the population is thought to be stable; this is a common species of wood mouse in many parts of its range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q306683 Hylomyscus Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1906 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot