Kellen's dormouse

Species of rodent

Kellen's dormouse
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Gliridae
Genus: Graphiurus
Species:
G. kelleni
Binomial name
Graphiurus kelleni
(Reuvens, 1890)
Synonyms
  • Graphiurus olga (Thomas, 1925)
  • Graphiurus parvus (True, 1893)

Kellen's dormouse (Graphiurus kelleni) is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae. It is native to tropical Africa where its range extends from the Gambia and Senegal to Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, and moist or dry savannah.

Description

Kellen's dormouse has a head-and-body length of between 75 and 150 mm (3.0 and 5.9 in) and a bushy tail of 50 to 110 mm (2 to 4 in). The upper parts are grey, brown or tawny, the underparts are pale and the head has large ears and a dark mask surrounding the eyes.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Kellen's dormouse is native to tropical western, central and eastern Africa south of the Sahara Desert. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It occupies a range of habitats including dry forests and both moist and dry savannah.[1]

Ecology

Kellen's dormouse is an active animal, scrambling about in trees and pouncing on its living prey, which includes insects and other invertebrates, small vertebrates, birds' eggs and carrion. Its diet also includes seeds and fruit. It is nocturnal and builds a nest into which it retreats during the day.[2] Apart from briefly in the breeding season, it is a mostly solitary animal. It makes a number of shrill vocalisations, including both warning signals and communication signals, but little is known of its behaviour.[3]

Status

Kellen's dormouse is a common species known from a range of habitat types. It has a very wide range and no specific threats have been identified, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Schlitter, D.; Grubb, P. (2015). "Graphiurus kelleni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2016.old-form url
  2. ^ a b Jonathan Kingdon (2015). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Second ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-4729-2531-2.
  3. ^ Jonathan Kingdon; David Happold; Thomas Butynski; Michael Hoffmann; Meredith Happold; Jan Kalina (2013). Mammals of Africa. A&C Black. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4081-8996-2.
  • Holden, M. E.. 2005. Family Gliridae. pp. 819–841 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
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Extant species of family Gliridae (Dormice)
Graphiurinae
Graphiurus
(African dormice)
  • Angolan African dormouse (Graphiurus angolensis)
  • Christy's dormouse (Graphiurus christyi)
  • Jentink's dormouse (Graphiurus crassicaudatus)
  • Johnston's African dormouse (Graphiurus johnstoni)
  • Kellen's dormouse (Graphiurus kelleni)
  • Lorrain dormouse (Graphiurus lorraineus)
  • Small-eared dormouse (Graphiurus microtis)
  • Monard's dormouse (Graphiurus monardi)
  • Woodland dormouse (Graphiurus murinus)
  • Nagtglas's African dormouse (Graphiurus nagtglasii)
  • Spectacled dormouse/Namtap (Graphiurus ocularis)
  • Rock dormouse (Graphiurus platyops)
  • Stone dormouse (Graphiurus rupicola)
  • Silent dormouse (Graphiurus surdus)
  • Walter Verheyen's African dormouse (Graphiurus walterverheyeni)
Leithiinae
Chaetocauda
  • Chinese dormouse (Chaetocauda sichuanensis)
Dryomys
(Forest dormice)
  • Woolly dormouse (Dryomys laniger)
  • Balochistan forest dormouse (Dryomys niethammeri)
  • Forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula)
Eliomys
  • Asian garden dormouse (Eliomys melanurus)
  • Maghreb garden dormouse (Eliomys munbyanus)
  • Garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)
Muscardinus
  • Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)
Myomimus
  • Masked mouse-tailed dormouse (Myomimus personatus)
  • Roach's mouse-tailed dormouse (Myomimus roachi)
  • Setzer's mouse-tailed dormouse (Myomimus setzeri)
Selevinia
  • Desert dormouse (Selevinia betpakdalaensis)
Glirinae
Glirulus
  • Japanese dormouse (Glirulus japonicus)
Glis
  • Edible dormouse (Glis glis)
  • Iranian edible dormouse (Glis persicus)
Category
Taxon identifiers
Graphiurus kelleni