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''Mastomys'' is a
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 ...
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 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 comes ...
endemic to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. It contains eight species: * Angolan multimammate mouse (''M. angolensis'') * Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (''M. awashensis'') * Southern multimammate mouse (''M. coucha'') * Guinea multimammate mouse (''M. erythroleucus'') * Hubert's multimammate mouse (''M. huberti'') * Verheyen's multimammate mouse (''M. kollmannspergeri'') * Natal multimammate mouse (''M. natalensis'') * Shortridge's multimammate mouse (''M. shortridgei'') The multimammate mice (also called multimammate rats, African soft-furred rats, natal-rats or African common rats) are found in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Their head-body length is between 10 and 15 cm, their tail length is between , and their weight varies between , depending on the species. Domesticated multimammate mice are heavier on average, weighing from . ''Mastomys'' species are omnivorous, and can live up to four years. Systematically, they were long placed in the genus ''Rattus'' (referred to as ''Rattus natalensis''). Later they were placed in the genus ''Mus ''(referred to as ''Mus natalensis'') and then they were placed in the genus '' Praomys''. Today, molecular research has discovered that they are a genus of their own (''Mastomys'') and that they are closely related to ''Praomys''. They are also more closely related to Mus than to Rattus. The dwarf multimammate mouse (''Serengetimys pernanus'') was formerly classified in this genus, but has now been moved to its own genus.


References


Further reading

*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 in ''Mammal Species of the World, a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference''. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Rodents of Africa Rodent genera Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Murinae-stub