401.

Cuanza Vlei Rat

Otomys cuanzensis

French: Otomys du Kwanza / German: Cuanza-Lamellenzahnratte / Spanish: Rata de laguna de Cuanza

Taxonomy. Otomys cuanzensis Hill & Carter, 1937,

“Chitau, alt. 4930 ft. [= 1500 m], Angola.”

Otomys cuanzensis was mistakenly included in O. angoniensis. Monotypic.

Distribution. Cuanza River Basin and other rivers draining into AtlanticOcean, NW Angola.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 178- 184 mm, tail 100-109 mm, ear 22 mm, hindfoot 31-33 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Cuanza Vlei Rat is large and robust, with large blunt head and shaggy fur. Fur is brown, mixed with iridescent black above and paler buffy gray below. Tail is short (¢.58% of head-body length), black above and paler below, with short bristles. Females have two pairs of nipples. Each upper incisor has single groove, and each lower incisor has one deep and one shallow groove. M, has four laminae, and M” has 6-7 laminae.

Habitat. Montane grassland and swamps at elevations of 1000-2500 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Cuanza Vlei Rat is terrestrial and presumably diurnal or crepuscular.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Crawford-Cabral (1998), Happold (2013a), Hill & Carter (1941), Monadjem etal. (2015).