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SPECIES Dendromus nyikae

Author:Wroughton, 1909.
Citation:Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 3: 248.
Common Name:Nyika African Climbing Mouse
Type Locality:Malawi, Nyika Plateau.
Distribution:Patchy range in S Subsaharan Africa (about 5º to 24º S latitude)—SC Dem. Rep. Congo (Kananga, AMNH series), N and C Angola (Crawford-Cabral, 1998; Hill and Carter, 1941; FMNH), N South Africa (Tzaneen Dist. of Limpopo; de Graaff, 1997bb), E Zimbabwe (de Graaff, 1997bb), Zambia (Ansell, 1978), Malawi (Ansell, 1989b; Ansell and Dowsett, 1988; Chitaukali et al., 2001), and Eastern Arc Mtns, NE Tanzania (Stanley et al., 1998b; Udzungwa Mtns, FMNH); limits unknown.
Status:IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).
Comments:A dark-furred and large-bodied relative of D. melanotis, as indicated by synapomorphic possession of a nail on the fifth hind digit (claw in all other Dendromus), an elongate front fifth digit (vestigial and scarely evident in others), and burrowing habit to construct underground nests (other species are better climbers and nest above ground); see Ansell, 1974b. The two comprise one of two species-pairs that commonly co-occur in southern Africa (Avery, 1998), in grassland and savanna woodland biomes at low and high altitudes (Chitaukali et al., 2001; Mugo et al., 1995). The report of D. melanotis nyikae from Ukerewe Isl in Lake Victoria (MCZ 26613; G. M. Allen and Loveridge, 1933) is an example of D. mystacalis.
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Offspring:

Synonyms:

    angolensis Roberts, 1929
    bernardi Lundholm, 1955
    longicaudatus Roberts, 1913

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