Natal multimammate mouse

Natal multimammate mouse
File:Mastomys natalensis.jpg
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	Mastomys
Species:	M. natalensis
Binomial name
Mastomys natalensis Smith, 1834
Synonyms
Mastomys hildebrandtii (Peters, 1878) Myomys fumatus (Peters, 1878)

The Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the Natal multimammate rat, the common African rat, or the African soft-furred rat.

Range

It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

File:Mastomys natalensis mammary.jpg

Mastomys natalensis is commonly known as the “multimammate rat” due to the female’s multiple and prominent mammary glands

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land.

These rats associate closely with humans, and are commonly found in and around African villages.

In 1972, the Natal multimammate rat was found to be the natural host of the Lassa fever virus.

References

• Granjon, L., Lavrenchenko, L., Corti, M., Coetzee, N. & Rahman, E.A. 2004. Mastomys natalensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 July 2007.
• Tofts, Russell. Multimammate Mice. Retrieved July 14, 2009.