Dendromus mesomelas
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Nesomyidae
Dendromus
Dendromus mesomelas

description: 57. Brants’s African Climbing Mouse <i>Dendromus mesomelas</i> <b>French:</b> Dendromus de Brants / <b>German:</b> Brants-Klettermaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Raton trepador africano de Brants <b>Other common names:</b> Brants's Climbing Mouse <b>Taxonomy.</b> Dendromys mesomelas Brants, 1827, east of Port Elizabeth, Sunday’s River, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Dendromus mesomelas was previously considered to extend its distribution across to the highlands of East Africa, but these populations have been assigned to a variety of other species. Taxonomic relationships among various isolated populations in southern Africa require investigation. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> E &amp; S South Africa and W Swaziland, with isolated records from extreme S DR Congo, NW Zambia, N Botswana, NE Namibia (Caprivi Strip), and C Mozambique. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 67-88 mm, tail 77-121 mm, ear 11-17 mm, hindfoot 16-23 mm; weight 6-15 g. Brants’s African Climbing Mouse is small but large for a species of Dendromus. Tail is very long and prehensile; it is darker above than below. Fur is long, soft, and bright brown to rufous-brown dorsally and off-white ventrally. Base of each hair is dark gray. Mid-dorsal stripe extends from neck to base of tail, which can be indistinct. Ears are relatively large and rounded. Limbs are adapted for climbing. Second to fourth digits of forelimbs have elongated claws, and first and fifth digits are greatly reduced. Hindlimb has second to fourth digits elongated,fifth digit long and opposable with a claw, and first digit greatly reduced. <b>Habitat.</b> Various grassland habitats, especially those associated with wetlands or moist environments. Brants’s African Climbing Mouse can also be relatively abundant in Afro-montane forest. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Brants’s African Climbing Mouse is predominantly granivorous but also eats insects. <b>Breeding.</b> In South Africa, pregnant Brants’s African Climbing Mice have been collected during the rainy season. They build grass nests with single entrances, usually attached to a grass stem or shrub close to ground level; they also use bird nests. Litter sizes are 2-6 young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Brants’s African Climbing Mouse is nocturnal and apparently predominantly arboreal. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> In captivity, Brants’s African Climbing Mouse appears to be gregarious, suggesting thatit is social. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. <b>Bibliography.</b> Armstrong &amp; van Hensbergen (1996), Avery (1992b), Choate (1972), De Graaff (1981), Monadjem (1997b, 1999a), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser &amp; Carleton (2005), Plavsic (2015), Rowe-Rowe (1986), Rowe-Rowe &amp; Lowry (1982), Rowe-Rowe &amp; Meester (1982a), Smithers (1971), Solano et al. (2014), Taylor (1998).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier &amp; Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Nesomyidae, pp. 156-203 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 201, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6600357