Aberdare vole
| Aberdare vole | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Surdisorex norae | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1906 |
The Aberdare vole ( Surdisorex norae ) is an East African species of shrew that is endemic to the Aberdare Range , a mountain range in central Kenya.
features
They are relatively large (82 to 110 mm head-trunk length ), mole-like shrews with long claws on the forelegs and a short tail. The fur is dark, chocolate brown, the hair 6 to 7 mm long. The head is 26 to 27 mm long and wide like a mole, the snout pointed. Eyes and ears are small and covered by hair. The forelimbs are short. The forefoot is broad with five toes. Three toes have light-colored, 4 to 6 mm long claws, two toes have short claws that are 2 to 3 mm long. Hind legs and feet are short. All five claws of the hind foot toes are light-colored. The tail reaches about 30% of the length of the head and trunk and is therefore relatively short for a shrew tail. He is thickly covered with black short hair.
Habitat and way of life
The Aberdare vole occurs exclusively in montane grassland, swamps and moors above the tree line in the Kenyan Aberdare Range. The few known specimens were caught in the Afromontane Zone at altitudes of 2820 to 3300 meters. The range is narrowly limited, possibly by the structure of the soil and the associated occurrence of earthworms. The animals are crepuscular and nocturnal. When foraging for food, they use duct systems created just below the surface of the ground, grass cover or layer of leaves. These are also used by white-toothed shrews , Grant's wood- shrew ( Sylvisorex granti ), the African soft rat Praomys jacksoni , the lamellar- tooth rat Otomys tropicalis , African wood mice ( Hylomyscus sp.), The yellow-spotted-haired mouse ( Lophuromys flavopunctatus ) and other common mouse . The Aberdare vole probably does not create tunnels that go deeper into the ground, such as those dug by moles. The animals are carnivorous. The most important prey animals are earthworms. These are bitten into small pieces before being eaten.
literature
- RM Baxter & NJ Dippenaar: Surdisorex norae Aberdare Mole-shrew, pp. 183-184 in Meredith Happold and David Happold (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume IV. Hedgehogs, Shrews and Bats. Bloomsbury, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2254-9
Web links
- Surdisorex norae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Oguge, N. & Hutterer, R., 2008. Accessed November 12, 2015.