The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (Mastomys awashensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in Ethiopia. Phylogentically the Awash multimammate mouse is the sister taxon of the Natal multimammate mouse (M. natalensis), a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range.[2]
| Awash multimammate mouse | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Mastomys |
| Species: | M. awashensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Mastomys awashensis Lavrenchenko, Likhnova & Baskevich, 1998 | |
Habitat
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and arable land.[3] It is threatened by habitat loss. It is also considered as a pest for grain crops.[4]
Ecology
The species' ecology has been studied in detail in the croplands of the Degua Tembien district in Tigray,[2] where it commonly occurs in crop fields, domestic and peri-domestic habitats in wider altitudinal range (1500 m up to 2700 m). Being a nocturnal and burrowing species, it prefers crop fields with vertisols. Likewise, the multimammate mouse possibly contributes to a significant portion to the rodent diet of night-active raptors such as Barn owl.
References
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