Mastomys
| Mastomys Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Southern multimammate mouse (Mastomys coucha) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Subfamily: | Murinae |
| Genus: | Mastomys Thomas, 1915 |
| Species | |
|
Mastomys awashensis | |
Mastomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae. It contains these species:
- 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)
- Dwarf multimammate mouse (M. pernanus)
- Shortridge's multimammate mouse (M. shortridgei)
The multimammate mice (also called multimammate rats, African soft-furred rats or natal-rats) are found in most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Their head-body length is between 10 and 17cm, their tail length is between 8 and 15cm and their weight varies between 20 and 80 grams, depending on the species. Multimammate mice kept as pets can get much heavier, weighing between 40 and 160 grams. They are omnivorous and live up to four years. A female can have as many as 12 litters a year.
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 more closely related to Mus than to Rattus. All the domesticated multimammate mice are hybrids between the natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) and the Southern multimammate mouse (Mastomys coucha).
References
- 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.