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African climbing mouse - DENDROMUS MESOMELAS
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Mouse": "Mouse" comes from the Old English word
"mus," for the animal.
Location: Africa south of the Sahara.
Habitat:
Description: The color of the upper parts of the body is gray-brown with a distinct black line running lengthwise down the body. The underside is white. The coat is soft and woolly. The tail has very small scales and a few scattered hairs and is extremely mobile and somewhat prehensile. The front feet have three toes, which are large and well developed, while the other two toes are much reduced in size. The hind feet have five regular toes. Length of head and body up to four inches, tail about the same, and weight about half an ounce.
Behavior: This solitary mouse is mainly nocturnal and arboreal. It can move with great agility through the branches of trees and bushes, and also through the tallest types of grasses. But if threatened it returns quickly to the ground. It builds its nest with plant matter, sometimes hanging the nest from branches, but it can also dig burrows and tunnels in the ground. It feeds on fruit, seeds, insects, and birds' eggs. It can easily be caught in the hands because it does not bite.
Reproduction: Details about its reproduction are unknown. The female has 8 nipples, which would imply litters averaging four young.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Mouse Index to study other
mice.
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