Mesic Four-striped Grass Rat – Rhabdomys dilectus

Rhabdomys dilectusDe Winton, 1897

Hyväksytty nimi, Maailman nisäkkäiden luettelo 2005

Definition of R. dilectus generally follows Rambau et al. (2003), who sampled populations in South Africa, W Zimbabwe, Nyika Plateau in Malawi, and Mt. Elgon in Uganda. The species occurs in mesic grasslands and savannas in southern Africa (probably the more mesic of the six biotic zones of southern Africa in which Rhabdomys occurs; Yom-Tov, 1993) but north of that region (in SE Demo Rep. Congo, NE Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) is restricted to disjunct montane savannas (e. g., Delany, 1975; Hollister, 1919; and other references cited above for regions north of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique).Two species occur in Angola. Rhabdomys pumilio occupies only the southwestern Namib desert of Angola (see account below); it is their sample from here that Carter and Hill (1941:102) identified as R. bechuanae. The other is represented by populations occurring over most of the Angolan Plateau. Rambau et al. (2003) did not sample Angola, ... [truncated]

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.