Leimacomys
| Togo mouse | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Superfamily: | Muroidea |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Subfamily: |
Leimacomyinae Musser, Carleton, 2005 |
| Genus: |
Leimacomys Matschie, 1893 |
| Species: | L. buettneri |
| Binomial name | |
|
Leimacomys buettneri Matschie, 1893 |
|
The Togo mouse (Leimacomys buettneri), also known as Büttner's African forest mouse or the groove-toothed forest mouse, is a unique muroid rodent known from only two specimens taken from near the type locality of Bismarckburg, near Yege, Togo, in 1890. Its genus is monotypic.
The entirety of known material for this species consists of a single, poor-quality dry skin, a fluid-preserved animal, and a cranium and mandible. The cranium and mandible are from different animals. The material is deposited in the Zoologisches Museum of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
The head and body length is 118 mm (4.6 in) with a tail of 37 mm (1.5 in). This tail is unusually short relative to the body length (ratio of 37%) and is considered an important diagnostic feature. The animal is dark to grey brown above and pale grey brown below. Ears are small and hairy. Feet are also somewhat hairy. The tail may be naked or slightly haired.
The incisors are shallowly grooved. The snout is long and wide, the interorbital width is broad, and the zygomatic plate is large).
Based on skull morphology, the Togo mouse is presumed to be insectivorous. Very little is known about the habits of this unusual mouse.
Leimacomys has been transferred back and forth between the Dendromurinae and the Murinae since its discovery. It most closely resembles Lophuromys, which has been transferred to a newly erected Deomyinae on the basis of molecular data. The association with Lophuromys is thought to be due to convergent evolution due to similar diets. Tooth characters resemble dendromurines, Mystromys or basal gerbils. Denys et al. generated a phylogeny that suggested, with limited support, Leimacomys is a sister taxon to the Gerbillinae.
...
Wikipedia