Western lamellar tooth rat
| Western lamellar tooth rat | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Otomys occidentalis | ||||||||||
| Dieterlen & Van der Straeten , 1992 |
The western lamellar tooth rat ( Otomys occidentalis ) is a rodent in the long-tailed mouse family .
features
Like other members of the genus, the species has a sturdy body and a large head. It reaches a head-torso length of 131 to 160 mm, a tail length of 68 to 88 mm and a weight of 69 to 88 g. The hind feet are 24 to 29 mm long and the length of the ears is 18 to 22 mm. The shaggy fur on the top is brown to black-brown in color. On the underside, the fur is more silky and shiny with a blackish gray color. The incisors in the upper and lower jaw are characterized by deep furrows. There are two pairs of teats in females . In the molar teeth of the upper jaw, the first molar has five lamellae and the third molar has eight lamellae (rarely seven).
Distribution and way of life
The western lamellar tooth rat lives in the Gotel Mountains in southern Nigeria and in the nearby Oku mountain range in Cameroon . It resides in regions that are between 1900 and 3000 meters above sea level. Specimens could be registered on grass and heather areas with isolated ferns as well as in forest clearings.
The animals are diurnal and presumably also crepuscular. Further information on the behavior is not available.
Danger
The conversion of the original landscape to agricultural land is a threat to the population. The western lamellar tooth rat is generally rare. It is due to their limited distribution area of the IUCN as endangered (Vulnerable) listed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . A taxonomic and geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 2 volumes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Otomys occidentalis ).
- ^ A b Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 7 - Rodents II . Lynx Edicions, 2017, ISBN 978-84-16728-04-6 , pp. 742 (English).
- ↑ a b Otomys occidentalis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008 Posted by: Taylor, PJ & Hutterer, R., 2008. Accessed July 12, 2020th