The mesic four-striped grass rat (''Rhabdomys dilectus'') 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 na ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...

Taxonomy

Traditionally the genus ''Rhabdomys'' has been seen as a single species, ''

Rhabdomys pumilio The four-striped grass mouse (''Rhabdomys pumilio'') or four-striped grass rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found throughout the southern half of Africa up to above sea level, extending as far north as the Democratic Rep ...

'', though modern evidence on the basis of karyotype and mtDNA analysis suggests that it comprises a second species, ''Rhabdomys dilectus'' .Castiglia, R., Solano, E., Makundi, R. H., Hulselmans, J., Verheyen, E. and Colangelo, P. (2011), Rapid chromosomal evolution in the mesic four-striped grass rat Rhabdomys dilectus (Rodentia, Muridae) revealed by mtDNA phylogeographic analysis. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. ''R. dilectus'' is divided in the following subspecies. *''R.d.dilectus'' (

karyotypic A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

form 2n = 46):

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, South African province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, and eastern

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

; *''R.d.angolae'' ( Wroughton, 1905): central and southern Angola; *''R.d.diminutus'' ( Thomas, 1893): central and western Kenya, central-eastern Uganda, highlands of central-northern Tanzania, south-east Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Malawi;

Description

''Rhabdomys dilectus'' is a fairly typical smallish murid, rather larger than house mice. Head+body length is between 90 and 135 mm, the length of the tail between 80 and 135 mm, the length of the foot between 17 and 33 mm, the length of the ears between 10.0 and 20 mm and the weight up to 68 g.Jonathan Kingdon, East African Mammals: An Atlas of Evolution in Africa, Volume 2, Part B, University of Chicago Press, 1974 The back is dark reddish-brown and displays characteristic black longitudinal stripes. The stripes inspired the generic name, which is derived from the Greek rhabdos meaning rod, giving Rhabdomys, meaning something like "barred mouse". The ventral sides are lighter. The legs are dark grizzled. The tail is shorter than the head and body. It is a terrestrial species, crepuscular and solitary. It feeds mainly on seeds of wheat and partly on plants, berries and small invertebrates. It is considered a plague by farmers.

Distribution

It is found throughout southern Africa.

Habitat

''Rhabdomys dilectus'' lives in the wetter mountain savannas up to 2,300 meters above sea level. It often invades cultivated fields. In urban areas it may enter houses.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q611467 Rhabdomys Mammals described in 1897 Taxa named by William Edward de Winton