Matthey harvest mouse

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Matthey harvest mouse
Matthey harvest mouse (Mus mattheyi)

Matthey harvest mouse ( Mus mattheyi )

Systematics
Family : Long-tailed mice (Muridae)
Subfamily : Old World Mice (Murinae)
Tribe : Murini
Genre : Mice ( Mus )
Subgenus : African harvest mice ( nannomys )
Type : Matthey harvest mouse
Scientific name
Mus mattheyi
Petter , 1969

The Matthey harvest mouse ( Mus mattheyi ) is a species of old world mice from the wet and grass savannahs of West Africa belonging to the African harvest mice . The very small mouse with a short tail is ocher-tan to chestnut-colored on the top and white on the underside. It is nocturnal, living on the ground, not endangered and is also kept as a pet . Named after Robert Matthey (1900–1982), it was described in 1969 by Francis Petter (1923–2012) as Mus mattheyi .

The Matthey harvest mouse can only be distinguished genetically from the closely related Hausa harvest mouse, but also morphologically from the Temminck harvest mouse and the small harvest mouse .

anatomy

Body measurements

The Matthey harvest mouse is a very small mouse with a short tail . On average, it is slightly larger than the Hausa harvest mouse and smaller than the Temminck harvest mouse. Their head-torso length is 45 to 66 millimeters and an average of 54.1 millimeters, the tail length is 32 to 47 millimeters and an average of 39.1 millimeters, the hind foot length is 10 to 14 millimeters and an average of 12.2 millimeters, the ear length is 7 up to 10.5 millimeters and an average of 9.1 millimeters and the body weight is 2.6 to 8.0 grams and an average of 4.6 grams. The tail measures about 70 percent of the length of the head and torso. A sexual dimorphism is not recognizable.

Body measurements of the Matthey harvest mouse
Dimensions in millimeters Monadjem et al., 2015 Petter, 2013 Granjon and Duplantier, 2009 Kouassi and coworkers, 2008
male female
Area medium number Area medium number Area medium number Area medium number Area medium number
Head to torso length 45-61 52.9 16 46-60 52 27 50-65 56.2 21st 48-66 55.9 16 46-63 54.4 27
Tail length 32-41 37.6 14th 33-44 38.4 22nd 33-44 38.6 19th 36-47 40.0 11 33-45 40.4 27
Hind foot length 11-14 12.1 16 11-13 12.1 27 11-13.5 12.4 22nd 10-13 12.3 16 11-13 12.1 27
Ear length 7-10 8.8 16 7-10 8.8 27 8-10 9.2 22nd 9-10.5 9.6 16 8-10 9.3 23
Body weight in grams 6-7 6.5 2 - 3.0-7.3 4.5 20th 3.2-7.0 4.8 13 2.6-8.0 4.5 20th
  1. ↑ Only specimens with a body weight over three grams and / or a head-torso length over 49 centimeters were considered.

Fur and teats

The fur of the Matthey harvest mouse is ocher-tan to chestnut-colored on the top, usually darker along the middle of the back and white on the underside. It thus differs from the pale, sand-colored fur of the Hausa harvest mouse and from the darker, golden-brown and dark-brown speckled fur of the Temminck harvest mouse. On the fawn-colored flanks, the fur on the top is clearly distinguished from that on the underside. The front and rear paws are white, the auricles are gray, and the white spot behind each auricle is missing.

The eight teats of the females are distributed over two pairs of teats each in the breast - and in the groin region .

Skull and teeth

The skull of the Matthey harvest mouse usually has V-shaped choanas , which, however, like the Hausa harvest mouse, can tend to be U-shaped. The cleft palate is elongated, but less than in the Hausa harvest mouse, and extends back to the rear edge of the first molar. The largest skull length is 14.5 to 19.7 millimeters and an average of 16.9 millimeters, the zygomatic width or largest skull width is 7.2 to 8.6 millimeters and an average of 8.0 millimeters, the nasal length is 5.3 to 8 , 7 millimeters and an average of 6.3 millimeters, the nasal width is 2.2 to 2.9 millimeters and an average of 2.5 millimeters, the interorbital width is 2.9 to 3.3 millimeters and an average of 3.1 millimeters, the brain capsule width is 7 , 3 to 8.1 millimeters and an average of 7.7 millimeters, the length of the ear capsule is 2.6 to 3.7 millimeters and an average of 3.1 millimeters and the upper row of teeth is 2.7 to 4.0 millimeters and an average of 3.1 millimeters . The mandible length is 9.6 to 11.3 millimeters and an average of 10.7 millimeters, the mandible height is 3.4 to 4.7 millimeters and an average of 3.0 millimeters, and the lower row of teeth is 2.2 to 3.2 millimeters and on average 2.5 millimeters.

Skull dimensions of the Matthey harvest mouse
Dimensions in millimeters Monadjem et al., 2015 Petter, 2013 Kouassi and coworkers, 2008
Area medium number Area medium number Area medium number
greatest skull length 15.3-19.7 17.4 14th 15-17 16.6 6th 14.5-17.9 16.5 13
zygomatic width or largest skull width - 8.2-8.6 8.4 4th 7.2-8.5 7.9 13
upper row length - 2.8-3.0 2.9 4th 2.7-4.0 3.1 12
1 · 0 · 0 · 3  =  16
1 · 0 · 0 · 3
Tooth formula of the Matthey harvest mouse

The teeth of the Matthey harvest mouse consist of one incisor and three real molars in each half of the jaw . The upper incisors form an acute angle with the skull axis ( opisthodontia ). The first maxillary molar is greatly elongated and thus differs morphologically from that of all other African harvest mice in West Africa. Its anterior lobe has three humps, while the Temminck harvest mouse and the small harvest mouse have four humps. He also has a prelobe. There are also three cusps on the anterior lobe of the first mandibular molar.

genetics

The karyotype of the Matthey harvest mouse is believed to be native to the African harvest mice. In the double set of chromosomes , it has 36  chromosomes with just as many chromosome arms and thus differs from that of the Hausa harvest mouse, the Temminck harvest mouse and the small harvest mouse.

Habitat and way of life

The habitat of the Matthey harvest mouse are moist savannah forests and grass savannahs . The species is characteristic of the forest-savanna mosaic in West Africa with annual rainfall of 750 to 1250 millimeters. In addition to natural habitats, it also inhabits fields , garden colonies and villages . It seems to occur in somewhat drier areas than the Temminck harvest mouse, but inhabits almost the same habitat as this in the Niger valley upstream from Bamako ( syntopy ). The Matthey harvest mouse is nocturnal and lives on the ground. Otherwise not much is known about their way of life. The population density could be quite high in some areas, but the species is rarely caught with classic animal traps . Four embryos were counted in a female collected in December 2005 in eastern Senegal .

Distribution and existence

The distribution area of the Matthey harvest mouse extends over the Sudan savanna zone and the Guinea savanna zone of the lowlands of West Africa south of the Sahara. Due to the inconsistent allocation of copies, it is indicated very differently in the literature. Musser and Carleton (2005) only recognize that the type specimen is found in Ghana . Granjon and van der Straeten (2008) also list Senegal , Ivory Coast , Burkina Faso and Mali ; Kouassi and coworkers (2008), however, still Guinea , Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo and Mali. According to Granjon and Duplantier (2009), it is also widespread in Niger and Chad . Petter (2013) only gives individual sites in Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Senegal. There is no evidence of an occurrence in Nigeria , but the eastern border of the distribution area is unknown. It overlaps with that of the Temminck harvest mouse ( Sympatry ) and borders on that of the Hausa harvest mouse ( Parapatry ).

The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN classified the Matthey harvest mouse in 2008 as not endangered. This was justified with the wide distribution, the regional frequency, the lack of essential threats and the occurrence in rural gardens. The species seems to be abundant in suitable habitats, the populations are stable and it is found in some protected areas such as the Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal. In 2004 it was also classified as not endangered. In 1996, however, insufficient data on the risk were available.

Systematics and nomenclature

Matthey harvest mouse (Ghana)
Red pog.svg
Type locality of the Matthey harvest mouse in Ghana

The Matthey harvest mouse is a species of African harvest mice . Due to the three cusps on the anterior lobe of the first maxillary molar, Granjon and Duplantier (2009) assign them to the mus tenellus group. It is closely related to the Hausa harvest mouse . Molecular biological investigations confirmed the close relationship assumed on the basis of morphological similarities . However, it is difficult to give diagnostic morphological features of the species. When looking at large rows, the characteristics given to distinguish the Matthey harvest mouse from the Hausa harvest mouse flow into one another. The high molecular divergence and chromosomal differences show that the Matthey harvest mouse is nevertheless to be regarded as an independent species . It can be differentiated from the Hausa harvest mouse based on its karyotype.

Subspecies of the Matthey harvest mouse are not differentiated and no synonyms are assigned to it. The type specimen of the Matthey harvest mouse comes from the Accra plain in Ghana. Named after Robert Matthey , it was described by Francis Petter in 1969 as Mus mattheyi .

Additional information

Web links

Commons : Mus mattheyi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Used literature

  • Laurent Granjon, Jean-Marc Duplantier: Les rongeurs de l'Afrique sahélo-soudanienne (=  Faune et flore tropicales . Volume 43 ). IRD Éditions / Publications scientifiques du Muséum, Marseille 2009, ISBN 978-2-7099-1675-2 ( ird.fr [PDF]).
  • Laurent Granjon, Erik van der Straeten: Mus mattheyi . In: IUCN 2013 (Ed.): IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1 . 2008.
  • Stéphane Kan Kouassi, Violaine Nicolas, Vladimir Aniskine, Aude Lalis, Corinne Cruaud, Arnaud Couloux, Marc Colyn, Mireille Dosso, Lamine Koivogui, Erik Verheyen, Chantal Akoua-Koffi, Christiane Denys: Taxonomy and Biogeography of the African Pygmy Mice, Subgenus Nannomys (Rodentia, Murinae, Mus ) in Ivory Coast and Guinea (West Africa) . In: Mammalia . tape 73 , no. 3 , p. 237-252 , doi : 10.1515 / MAMM.2008.035 .
  • Ara Monadjem, Peter J. Taylor, Christiane Denys, Fenton PD Cotterill: Rodents of Sub-Sharan Africa: A Biogeographic and Taxonomic Synthesis . De Gruyter, Berlin / Munich / Boston 2015, ISBN 978-3-11-030166-3 .
  • Guy G. Musser, Michael D. Carleton: Superfamily Muroidea . In: Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 894-1531 .
  • Francis Petter: Une souris nouvelle d'Afrique occidentale Mus mattheyi sp. nov. In: Mammalia . tape 33 , no. 1 , 1969, p. 118-123 , doi : 10.1515 / mamm.1969.33.1.118 .
  • Francis Petter: Mus haussa : Hausa Pygmy Mouse . In: David CD Happold (Ed.): Mammals of Africa. Volume III: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits . Bloomsbury, London a. a. 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 480-481 .
  • Francis Petter: Mus mattheyi : Matthey's Pygmy Mouse . In: David CD Happold (Ed.): Mammals of Africa. Volume III: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits . Bloomsbury, London a. a. 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 483-484 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Petter, 1969 (p. 118)
  2. ↑ Petter, 2013 ( Mus mattheyi , p. 483): "Matthey's Zwergmaus"
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Petter, 2013 ( Mus mattheyi , p. 483)
  4. ↑ see table of body measurements
  5. ↑ a b c d Granjon and Duplantier, 2009 (p. 118)
  6. ↑ a b Monadjem et al ., 2015 (p. 830)
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Petter, 2013 ( Mus mattheyi , p. 484)
  8. ↑ Kouassi and colleagues, 2008 (Tab. 2, p. 243)
  9. ↑ see table of skull dimensions
  10. ↑ a b Kouassi et al ., 2008 (Tab. 3, p. 244)
  11. ^ Kouassi et al., 2008 (p. 245)
  12. ↑ a b c d e Granjon and Duplantier, 2009 (p. 117)
  13. ↑ a b c d e f Granjon and van der Straeten, 2008 ( Mus mattheyi )
  14. ↑ a b Musser and Carleton, 2005 (p. 1396, Mus mattheyi )
  15. ↑ Kouassi et al., 2008 (p. 248)
  16. ↑ Petter, 2013 ( Mus haussa , p. 480)