Dendromus mystacalis

Geographic Range

Dendromus mystacalis resides in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is found along the east African coast south of Somalia and westward to the Atlantic coast in Nigeria. The range extends south to Angola in the west, to the southern tip of South Africa in the east, but most of Namibia and Botswana are excluded from the range.

• Biogeographic Regions
• ethiopian ethiopian

Habitat

Dendromus mystacalis is common in the banana "shambas" and in grass, herbage, and bush in the African savanna. It does not occur in true forests or in very arid areas. It is noticeably more prevalent where the common weed "namirembe" ( Ageratum conyzoides ) is abundant. It is a low altitude species, not found at elevations exceding 2,000 meters above sea level.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland

Physical Description

Dendromus mystacalis is a relatively small mouse for the genus. Females are generally smaller than males. Average measurements are: Head and body 0 (50 to 80) mm, tail 83 (72 to 101) mm, hindfoot 17 (14 to 20) mm, ear 12 (10 to 14) mm, and weight 7 to 17 g.

All Dendromus have grooved incisors on the upper jaw, a tail greater than 60 mm in length, and only 3 well-developed digits on their front feet. The hindfeet are normal, but have a short hallux. The second digit is about as long as the fifth digit. The fur on the back is dark yellowish-brown on the tips, while the bases of the hairs are a slate color. The fur on the ventrum is lighter - usually white or light brown. Other Dendromus have a dorsal stripe. Normally, D. mystacalis does not, but there are variations. Some show a "vestigial stripe" and a few have an obvious dorsal stripe. The color of the fur can range from a pale sandy brown to a rich, moderately dark brown.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic endothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

Reproduction

The sexual dimorphism in size seen in this species might be indicative of some competition between males for access to females, and therefore some level of polygyny. However, not much is known about the mating system of D. mysticalis .

Breeding season and gestation time of D. mystacalis are not known. Adult females have 8 mammae. Young are born primarily between November and January near the equator, but births in other months have been documented in Eastern Zaire and Uganda. In northern Rhodesia, fetuses have been observed during May, and juveniles have been observed during February, March, May, June, and December. Litters consist of 3 to 4 naked and blind offspring. Young are born in the female's nest.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
• viviparous viviparous

Newborn D. mystacalis are born helpless and are nursed in the nest of the female. The period of nursing is not known, nor is the duration of parental care. The role of males in the parental care of this species has not been reported.

• Parental Investment
• altricial altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-independence
  • protecting
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The life span for D. mystacalis has not been determined. However, a closely related species, Dendromus mesomelas , was documented in 1973 to live 3 years and 3 months in captivity. Dendromus mystacalis is probably similar.

Behavior

Dendromus mystacalis is a nocturnal species, and is almost exclusively arboreal in tall grasses, but if necessary, it can still live on the ground. Its semi-prehensile tail and small size are advantageous in climbing thin and unstable stems.

Male and female mice build nests that are quite similar to each other. The nests are elevated, being built anywhere from just above the ground up to three meters high. The mice will build nests in bushes, grasses, or trees. The nests are made of shredded banana leaves or long, wiry grass. The inside of the nest is more finely shredded than the outside. Nests are globular with a hole in one side. They are less than 7.35 cm in diameter, and only one adult mouse occupies a nest. The nests are often built lower to the ground, but can be in exposed areas high up in banana trees or other tall vegetation.

Dendromus mystacalis has successfully adapted to human disturbances. It is often found in gardens, banana trees and bunches, pineapples, sweet potato vines, palms, and thatched roofs.

Dendromus mystacalis is an aggressive mouse. It will fight fiercely with other mice, especially with D. melanotis . Individuals of this species appear to be dominant to Mus minutoides and Mus triton individuals, but subordinate to Dendromus melanotis . When D. mystacalis is provoked, it is able to make vertical leaps up to 45 cm.

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal arboreal
• terricolous
• nocturnal nocturnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary

Home Range

The home range of D. mystacalis is unknown.

Communication and Perception

Very little information is available on communication in D. mysticalis . However, Like other small rodents, they are likely to use smell and acoustic information extensively, along with vision and touch.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Dendromus mystacalis is omnivorous. Its diet consists of seeds from grasses, foliage, and arthropods. In a study of stomach contents, the grasses and foliage made up more than 75% of the diet, whereas arthropods made up less than 25%. This species is primarily nocturnal, doing its foraging at night.

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• insects
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts

Predation

All Dendromus species are often prey for small African predators. However, details on predation upon this species are lacking.

Ecosystem Roles

The ranges of D. mystacalis and D. melanotis overlap, and the two species are very aggressive towards each other. The aggressiveness could be an indication of natural competition. Studies show D. melanotis tends to outcompete D. mystacalis . When D. melanotis is present in an ecosystem, D. mystacalis will more often occupy the dry-grass savanna. When D. melanotis is absent, D. mystacalis will more often occupy the wetter areas.

Densities of D. mystacalis were reported for Haut Ituri in 1963 as 0.6 mice/ha in savanna with secondary herbaceous growth, 3.6 mice/ha in a marsh, and 19.8 mice/ha in herbaceous growth bordering a marsh

In addition to its role in interspecific competition, possibly limiting the distribution of other species of mice, D. mystacalis probably plays some role in dispursing seeds which it eats. As a prey species, D. mystacalis probably affects predator populations. As an insect predator, these mice probably have some impact on insect populations.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Several national parks in Africa (Malolotja National Park, for example) list D. mystacalis on their mammal lists. The presence of D. mysticalis may add to the ecotourism in these parks, but this is not likely due to the small size of these mice, their nocturnal habits, and their lack of any overtly charismatic characteristics. However, as a prey species, they probably contribute to maintaining populations of animals which are of greater interest to tourists.

• Positive Impacts
• ecotourism ecotourism

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Although D. mystacalis will inhabit banana trees, human structures, and gardens, no negative economic effects have been documented.

Conservation Status

Dendromus mystacalis is not protected under CITES, the IUCN Redlist, or the ESA.

Other Comments

Other English common names for D. mystacalis include lesser climbing mouse, banana climbing mouse, and chestnut climbing mouse

Currently recognized subspecies of D. mystacalis include D. m. jamesoni Wroughton, D. m. whytei Hayman, and D. m. messorius . Dendromus mystacalis messorius is listed by some authors as a separate species.

Dendromus mystacalis was historically called Dendromus pumilio Wagner.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Cathy Szymanski (author), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (editor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

References

Ansell, W. 1960. The Mammals of Northern Rhodesia . Lusaka, Zambia: The Government Printer.

Delany, M. 1975. The Rodents of Uganda . London, England:

Jones, M. 1982. Longevity of captive animals. Zoological Garten , 52: 115-128.

Kingdon, J. 1974. East African Mammals. An Atlas of Evolution in Africa IIB . London, England: Academic Press.

Monadjem, A. 1997. Stomach contents of 19 species of small mammals from Swaziland. South African Journal of Zoology , 32: 23-26.

Smithers, R. 1971. The Mammals of Botswana . Salisbury, Rhodesia: Mardon Printers Ltd..

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 2002. "Cites Appendices I, II, and III" (On-line ). Accessed 3 Dec 2002 at http://www.CITES.org/eng/append/index.shtml .

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 2002. "IUCN Red List of Threatened and Endanagered Species" (On-line ). Accessed 3 Dec 2002 at http://www.redlist.org .

Swaziland National Trust Commission. 2001. "Malolotja Nature Reserve Mammal Checklist" (On-line ). Accessed 4 Nov 2002 at http://www.sntc.org.sz/checklst/mamamch.html .

World Institute for Conservation and Environment. 2002. "Nature Word Wide" (On-line ). Accessed 1 Dec 2002 at http://www.birdlist.org/index.htm .

United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. "Species Information: Threatened and Endangered Animals and Plants" (On-line ). Accessed 3 Dec 2002 at http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html .