The Mount Oku hylomyscus (''Hylomyscus grandis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

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 ...

. Found only on

Mount Oku Mount Oku, or Kilum Mountain, is the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volcanic Line, located in the Oku region of the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. It is the second highest mountain in mainland Central Africa. The stratovol ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, in tropical Central Africa, 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. It has a very small range and is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, so 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 natu ...

has rated its conservation status as being " critically endangered".

Description

The largest wood mouse 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 ...

'' Hylomyscus'', it grows to a head-and-body length of between with a tail of between . The fur on the back is about long and is variable in colour, ranging from greyish-brown to cinnamon brown, the individual hairs being grey with either black or brown tips. The underparts are greyish-white, the individual hairs being grey with white tips. There is a sharp delineation between the colour of the upper and underparts. The fore-feet are small with five digits, one without a claw, and sparse white hairs; the hind-feet are also small, have five digits with claws, and bear sparse white hairs. The tail is about 145% of the length of head-and-body and is nearly hairless, with scattered small scales and short dark bristles, longer near the tip of the tail.

Ecology

Very little is known about the ecology and behaviour of the Mount Oku hylomyscus as only four individuals have been collected. It lives in montane forest and the length of its tail makes it likely that it has a climbing life-style. One individual, caught in January, was a pregnant female with five or six embryos.

Status

''H. grandis'' has a very restricted range, only four specimens having been gathered from a single location at above sea level on the slopes of

. Its total area of occurrence is approximately and little of the natural forest in which it lives remains, as trees are being felled to make way for agriculture, and to provide timber for construction and firewood. Because of these factors, the

has rated its conservation status as being "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765091 Endemic fauna of Cameroon Hylomyscus Rodents of Africa Mammals of Cameroon Mammals described in 1969 Critically endangered fauna of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Cameroonian Highlands forests