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Mount Lefo Brush-furred Rat

Lophuromys eisentrauti

French: Rat-hérissé d'Eisentraut / German: Mount-Lefo-Blrstenhaarmaus / Spanish: Rata de pelaje de cepillo de Lefu

Other common names: Eisentraut’'s Bush-furred Rat

Taxonomy. Lophuromys eisentrauti Dieterlen, 1979,

Mt Lefo, 2550 m, Bamenda-Banso highlands, West Cameroon.

Lophuromys eisentrauti was originally described as subspecies of L. sikapusi and was rehabilitated later based on morphologic and morphometric revisions. It was later assigned to L. flavopunctatus species group, but its closest relative is L. dieterlena. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality on Mt Lefo, W Cameroon.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 88-94 mm, tail 51-53 mm, ear 14 mm, hindfoot 18-19 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Mount Lefo Brush-furred Rat is one of the smallest species of Lophuromys, with unspeckled pelage; back and flanks are red-brown and venteris pale red. Tail is relatively short, c¢.56% of head-body length. Habitat. Mountain cloud forest with lichens, tree ferns, mosses, and lycopods at elevations of 1800-1900 m.

Food and Feeding. No information Breeding. No information Activity patterns. No information Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

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Status and Conservation. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Mount Lefo Brush-furred Rat is only known from the type locality in less than 500 km?.

Bibliography. Dieterlen (1979, 2013g), Eisentraut (1975), Hutterer et al. (1992), Monadjem et al. (2015), Verheyen, Colyn & Hulselmans (1996), Verheyen, Hulselmans et al. (2007).