Awash multimammate mouse
{{Short description|Species of rodent}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Awash multimammate mouse
| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Mastomys
| species = awashensis
| authority = Lavrenchenko, Likhnova & Baskevich, 1998
| synonyms =
}}
The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (Mastomys awashensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in Ethiopia. Phylogentically the Awash multimammate mouse is the sister taxon of the Natal multimammate mouse (M. natalensis), a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range.
Habitat
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and arable land.{{cite journal |last1=Meheretu Yonas |last2=Kiros Welegerima |last3=Sluydts |first3=V |last4=Bauer |first4=H |last5=Kindeya Gebrehiwot |last6=Deckers |first6=J |last7=Makundi |first7=R |last8=Leirs |first8=H |title=Reproduction and survival of rodents in crop fields: the effects of rainfall, crop stage and stone-bund density |journal=Wildlife Research |date=2015 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=158–164 |doi=10.1071/WR14121 }}
It is threatened by habitat loss. It is also considered as a pest for grain crops.{{cite journal |last1=Meheretu Yonas |last2=Kiros Welegerima |last3=Deckers |first3=S |last4=Raes |first4=D |last5=Makundi |first5=R |last6=Leirs |first6=H |title=Farmers' perspectives of rodent damage and management from the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia |journal=Crop Protection |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=532–539 |doi=10.1016/j.cropro.2009.12.006 |year=2010 }}
Ecology
The species' ecology has been studied in detail in the croplands of the Degua Tembien district in Tigray,{{cite book |last1=Meheretu Yonas |last2=Leirs |first2=H |title=Raptor perch sites for biological control of agricultural pest rodents. In: Nyssen J., Jacob, M., Frankl, A. (Eds.). Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District |date=2019 |publisher=SpringerNature |isbn=978-3-030-04954-6 |url=https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030049546}} where it commonly occurs in crop fields, domestic and peri-domestic habitats in wider altitudinal range (1500 m up to 2700 m). Being a nocturnal and burrowing species, it prefers crop fields with vertisols. Likewise, the multimammate mouse possibly contributes to a significant portion to the rodent diet of night-active raptors such as Barn owl.
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{MSW3 Muroidea | id = 13001467 | pages = 1361–1362}}
{{Murinae (Stenocephalomys–Xeromys)}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1970364}}
Category:Endemic fauna of Ethiopia
Category:Mammals described in 1998
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Murinae-stub}}