page_title: Rhabdomys
section_title: Ecology and general behaviour
hierarchical_section_title: Rhabdomys / Ecology and general behaviour
caption_attribution_description: English: Rhabdomys pumilio Striped mouse juvenile in the wild state, its eyes not yet opened, but foraging in full daylight in a succulent plant in the Mesembryanthemaceae, possibly a Drosanthemum, near the West Coast of South Africa. It seemed to be eating both leaves and unripe fruit.
context_page_description: Rhabdomys is a largely Southern African genus of muroid rodents slightly larger than house mice. They are known variously as striped or four-striped mice or rats. Traditionally the genus has been seen as a single species, Rhabdomys pumilio, though modern evidence on the basis of karyotype and mtDNA analysis suggests that it comprises two or more species and subspecies. Dorsally Rhabdomys species display four characteristic black longitudinal stripes on a paler background.
context_section_description: Unlike most small rodents, Rhabdomys species exhibit a diurnal, bimodal activity pattern, with activity concentrated around crepuscular periods in mornings and evenings, and reduced during the midday period.
  The omnivorous diet, the ability to survive without water provided that the food has a minimum water content of 15%, and its extreme plasticity in habitat preference are likely reasons for its wide (if discontinuous; Brooks, 1982) distribution throughout Southern Africa.
  Rhabdomys are fairly omnivorous and will eat some kinds of insects opportunistically, but their main foods are seeds and other vegetable matter such as certain forbs. They will also eat the underground storage organs of certain small species of geophytes, such as edible Moraeas, which they can locate by smell and dig up. Though they are by no means generally regarded as serious pests, their depredations can be unwelcome to grain farmers and horticulturists when their population happens to be high.
  Rhabdomys are important prey items for many species of snake, and for small to medium-sized carnivores such as the caracal, serval, wildcat and black-footed cat, jackal, and several species of mongoose. They also are major food items for several species of birds of prey. Even owls take advantage when they catch the mice in crepuscular activity.
caption: Unweaned Rhabdomys feeding on a succulent forb
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A650 IS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2013:11:04 11:12:37", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2318", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "7744", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7750", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:11:02 15:25:14", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:11:02 15:25:14", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "149/16", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "37/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4000", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3000", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7568", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4000000/291", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1000000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4206"}