Mastomys erythroleucus ( Temminck, 1853 )

Denys, Christiane, Missoup, Alain Didier, Nicolas, Violaine, Sylla, Morlaye, Douno, Mory, Kadjo, Blaise, Lalis, Aude & Monadjem, Ara, 2025, Annotated checklist of rodents from a biodiversity hotspot, Mount Nimba (West Africa), Zoosystema 47 (27), pp. 617-689 : 647

Mastomys erythroleucus ( Temminck, 1853)

Mus erythroleucus Temminck, 1853: 160 .

REMARKS

The specimen MNHN-ZM-2021-1770 (NIM199) displayed the typical standard karyotype of M. erythroleucus ( Volobouev et al. 2001; Denys et al. 2009) with 2N =38. The three new specimens collected in Mission 1 were barcoded.

Mastomys erythroleucus displays a great variability in the pelage coloration and external characters are not always diagnostic so we do not detail more external morphology. The Nimba Mastomys erythroleucus have similar dimensions as their homologues from forest Guinea. Their tail length is slightly smaller than HB. This character is also found in the holotype ( Table 7 ). The new Nimba specimens display well marked CIO, long nasal, no fronto parietal crests and a relatively square braincase. In ventral view, the long incisor foramen enters between the molar rows in the palate and one can observe small tympanic bullae. For skull distances, one can find that M. erythroleucus is characterized by a narrower rostrum than in M. natalensis and by a larger lower molars length ( Table 8 ). As already detailed ( Denys & Winkler 2015) there are few dental differences between species of Mastomys of West Africa. Molar characteristics of the Nimba M. erythroleucus fit well with those highlighted in Denys & Winkler (2015): bunodont murine cusp pattern,T1 posterior to t2-t3, T1 and t3 on upper M2 and t1 on M3, 2 lobes on the M3/3. The lower molar row is slightly longer in M. erythroleucus and cingular cusps are more numerous. The upper M3/ is slightly larger in M. erythroleucus ( Table 8 ).