Graphiurus rupicola
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Gliridae
Graphiurus
Graphiurus rupicola

description: 14.
Rupicolous African Dormouse
Graphiurus rupicola
French: Loir des rochers / German: Namaqualand-Felsenbilch / Spanish: Lirén de roca
Other common names: Namaqua Rock Dormouse, Stone Dormouse
Taxonomy. Gliriscus rupicola Thomas & Hinton, 1925,
Karibib, west-central Namibia, 3842 feet (1170 m).
Placed in the subgenus Graphiurus. It was described as being distinct from all other African dormouse species based on cranial morphology and external pelage characteristics; they chose the namerupicola to highlight the new species’ rock-dwelling habits. They compared the new animal with another rock-dwelling dormouse known from south-eastern Africa, G. platyops, and explained that morphological and ecological differences between rock-dwelling species and other African dormice were so great that they should be placed in their own genus as discussed under G. platyops. In 1951, A. Roberts followed O. Thomas and M. A. C. Hinton in recognizing G. rupicola as a valid species and outlined substantial morphological differences between G. rupicola and G. platyops, a position endorsed by M. E. Holden in 2005 and 2013. In 2013, Holden provided a more detailed description of G. rupicola and a comparison with G. platyops. Isolated populations of these dormice occur on mountains and highlands from Mount Soque, Angola, south to Eenriet and vicinity of Port Nolloth in Little Namaqualand, South Africa. Northern distributional limit for G. rupicola was previously thought to be Kamanjab, Namibia, but Holden provisionally reported in 2005 and 2013 that individuals collected from Mount Soque, Angola, appear to represent this species. The two Mount Soquespecimens consist ofcranial fragments and stuffed skins; further study incorporating additional specimens and molecular data may support recognition of the Angolan population as a separate species, endemicto the high mountain region of west-central Angola. A similar distribution was outlined for a new species of African wood mouse, Hylomyscus heinrichorum, recently described by M. D. Carleton and colleagues in 2015. Monotypic.
Distribution. SW Africa, in WC Angola, C Namibia, and NW South Africa (NW Northern Cape Province).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 105-119 mm, tail 96-118 mm, ear 16-20 mm, hindfoot 21-22 mm; weight 25 g (a subadult). No sexual dimorphism reported. Dorsal pelage of the Rupicolous African Dormouse is silvery gray, drab gray, or slate gray; texture is woolly and thick. Fur is moderately long (rump hairs 10-11 mm, guard hairs up to 17 mm). Ventral pelage is predominantly white; slate gray bases ofventral fur hairs are moderately visible. Dorsal and ventral pelage colors are clearly delineated. Head color matches that of dorsal pelage, slightly paler toward snout. Eyes are large; eye mask is conspicuous; some individuals have white supra-auricular patches. Ears are brown, large, and oval-shaped, with white or cream post-auricular patches usually present. Cheeks are cream or white, forming part ofpale lateral area that extends from cheeks to shoulders. Hindfeet are white, or white with dark metatarsal streak, ¢.20% of headbody length. Tail is long, ¢.95% of head-body length, similar in color to dorsal pelage but with many scattered white hairs mixed throughout;tail thus may appear fringed in white, mottled with white, or predominantly white; tail tip is white. Tail hairs are shorter at base, 9-12 mm, and longer at tip, up to 43 mm. Skull is long and moderately flattened, with large auditory bullae. Greatest length ofskull is 30-5-32-3 mm, zygomatic breadth is 16-7-17-9 mm, and upper tooth row length is 3-3-3-7 mm. External and cranial measurements based on specimens from Namibia. Chromosome numberis not known. Females have four pairs ofnipples (I pectoral + 1 abdominal + 2 inguinal = 8).
Habitat. Rock crevices in rocky outcrops and kopjes in xeric shrublands and woodlands at elevations of ¢.400-1650 m. In Namibia and South Africa, distribution ofthe Rupicolous African Dormice lies within the South-West Arid Biotic Zoneand within the Succulent Karoo and Namibian Savanna Woodlands ecoregions. In Angola, they have only been captured on the inselberg of Mount Soque within the Angolan Montane Forest-Grassland Mosaic ecoregion. The two specimens from Mount Soque, Angola, were captured in “evergreen wood at mountain top.” Dominant Afro-montane forest tree species in this region is the yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius, Podocarpaceae). Much ofthe fauna and flora recorded from Mount Soque show closer affinities to faraway highlands than to species occurring in the surrounding miombo woodland on the central Angolan plateau.
Food and Feeding. There is no information available for this species.
Breeding. A female Rupicolous African Dormouse obtained on Mount Brukkaros, Namibia, in late September was “carrying fetuses,” but no further details were noted and very little is known about the reproductive biology ofthis species.
Activity patterns. Rupicolous African Dormice are nocturnal, but their specific activity patterns are virtually unknown.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Rupicolous African Dormouse is probably predominantly rupicolous. Moderately flattened skull enables individuals to squeeze through narrow rock crevices. Limited information suggests that Rupicolous African Dormice nest only in rock crevices.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Rupicolous African Dormice has a relatively wide distribution and presumably a large population, and it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. In 2013, Holden recommended that Data Deficient would be a more appropriate classification. Existence ofso few museum specimens (only ¢.25 specimens) from widely separated collecting localities provides little information as to geographical limits and abundance. Paucity of specimens suggests that densities are not high. The fact that all three ecoregions in which Rupicolous African Dormice occur—the Angolan Montane Forest-Grassland Mosaic, the Succulent Karoo, and the Namibian Savanna Woodlands—are classified as either critical/endangered or vulnerable provides further justification for IUCN classification as Data Deficient.
Bibliography. Carleton et al. (2015), Dean (2000), Ellerman et al. (1953), Genest-Villard (1978), Happold & Lock (2013), Holden (2005, 2013), Huntley (1974), Huntley & Matos (1994), Mills, Melo & Vaz (2013), Mills, Olmos et al. (2011), Roberts (1951), Schlitter & Coetzee (2008), Shortridge (1934a), Thomas & Hinton (1925), White (1983), WWF (2015).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Gliridae, pp. 838-889 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 849, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6604339