Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Mastomys
Sign in to saveMastomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. 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)
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderRodentia
- FamilyMuridae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 11,775
- With media
- 624
- Family
- Muridae
- Collections
- YPM, USNM, CM
- Recorded in
- India, Kenya, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Senegal
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
2 sectionsContents
- References
- Further reading
Mastomys is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa. 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mastomys” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.