Graphiurus nagtglasu, 1832

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Gliridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 838-889 : 840

1.

Nagtglas’s African Dormouse

Graphiurus nagtglasu

French: Loir de Nagtglas / German: Grol 3er Afrikanischer Bilch / Spanish: Liron de Nagtglas

Other common names: Huet's African Dormouse, Large Gray Dormouse

Taxonomy. Graphiurus nagtglasii Jentink, 1888 ,

Hill Town, Du Queah River, Liberia.

Most publications covering dormice in West Africa have historically referred to this species as G. hueti , but in 1996, P. Grubb and W. F. H. Ansell recommended applying the name G. nagtglasu to this large West African dormouse. Grubb explained in 2004 that the name G. hueti was a nomen dubium (doubtful validity). A. T. de Rochebrune in 1883 listed the type locality as Senegal and reported that the species also occurred in neighboring Gambia, but records have never been substantiated in either of these countries. No type specimen for de Rochebrune’s G. hueti was ever located. Grubb and Ansell allocated the next available name for this dormouse, G. nagtglasii , for which a suitable holotype existed. F. A. Jentink in 1888 based his description of G. nagtglasii on five syntypes, three from the Du Queah and Farmington rivers in Liberia and two from the “Gold Coast,” or modern-day Ghana. His description and measurements were based only on one adult male from the Du Queah River, and M. E. Holden in 2013 restricted the type locality to that river. G. M. Allen in 1939 and H. Genest-Villard in 1978 included G. monardi as a subspecies of G. nagtglasu, but J. R. Ellerman and colleagues in 1953, Ansell in 1978, L.. W. Robbins and D. A. Schlitter in 1981, and Holden in 1993, 2005, and 2013 observed that G. monardi is clearly distinct from and probably not closely related to G. nagtglasu. E. G. Potapova in 2001 and I. Y. Pavlinov and Potapova in 2003 placed this species within its own subgenus, Aethoglis, an arrangement followed by Holden in 2005. Monotypic.

Distribution. W & C Africa, from SE Sierra Leone to E Cameroon (excluding Benin), SW Central African Republic and Gabon. The S distributional limit of this species is unknown, as the Gabon specimen has no specific locality information.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 120-155 mm, tail 62-122 mm, ear 15-22 mm, hindfoot 20-30 mm; weight 79-104 g. Nagtglas’s African Dormouse is the largest species in the genus. No sexual dimorphism reported. Dorsal pelage is brown, grayish brown, or rufous brown; subadult dorsal pelage is mostly gray; texture is soft, woolly, dense, and short; rump hairs are 5-7 mm, and guard hairs are up to 12 mm. Fur of many museum specimens feels rough and coarse, but this is an artifact ofthe collecting method used because many were smoked out of hollow trees and fur is thus singed. Ventral pelage is dark gray, washed with ocher, cream, or white, and dorsal and ventral pelage colors are not clearly delineated. Eye mask is usually conspicuous and forms broad, dark band extending from eyes to muzzle. Cheeks are grayish white or ocherous white. Ears are brown, medium in length, narrow, and somewhat pointed; post auricular patches are not present. Hindfeet are uniformly gray or brown, or white with dark metatarsal streak, c.19% of head-body length. Tail is moderately long, ¢.76% of head-body length. Tail hairs are shorter at bases, 14-18 mm, with longer hairs toward tip, up to 37 mm. Tail is distichous, most conspicuous from ventral view. Tail color generally matches that of dorsal pelage on dorsal and ventral surfaces, but it has a variegated frosted appearance. A few white hairs are occasionally mixed throughout tail, but tip is not white. Greatest length of skull is 34:9-39-1 mm, zygomatic breadth is 18-3-22 mm, and upper tooth row length is 4-6-5-7 mm. Chromosome number is 2n = 40. Females have four pairs of nipples (I pectoral + 1 abdominal + 2 inguinal = 8).

Habitat. Primary rainforest, secondary forest, abandoned farmlands, cocoa plantations and other kinds of farms in forested areas at elevations from near sea level to ¢.650 m. Most museum specimens were collected from hollow trees, one from an old hollow banana stem and several from banana groves within cocoa plantations. Farmers preparing new farms in secondary bush or forest have often caught Nagtglas’s African Dormice. Several individuals have been reported to be trapped on vines in secondary forest near hollow trees and four examples were collected in south-eastern Cameroon in the same tree cavities as two tree-roosting bat species: the Large Slitfaced Bat (Nycteris grandis) and the Cyclops Roundleat Bat (Hipposideros cyclops). In Ghana, sharing or co-roosting oftree cavities by these dormice and certain species of bats was further supported by capture of a Nagtglas’s African Dormouse by an opening at the base of a large, hollow buttressed tree, and the subsequent capture of one specimen of Cyclops Roundleaf Bat in a mist net nearby. The dormouse collected at the base ofthe tree was obtained in primary rainforest, but Nagtglas’s African Dormice were often observed at night along an access road leading to the village of Mmem, foraging in a flowering Solanum erianthum ( Solanaceae ).

Food and Feeding. Nagtglas’s African Dormouse is probably omnivorous. In the wild, foods include cocoa pods, African oil palm nuts ( Elaeis guineensis , Arecaceae ), papaya ( Carica papaya , Caricaceae ), bananas, and insects. Because Nagtglas’s African Dormice are known to nest in hollow trees and have been collected only among vines or in trees, they presumably do not forage on the ground.

Breeding. Litter sizes of Nagtglas’s African Dormice are 2-3 young. Limited data suggest that most young are born during the wetter months of the year. In Liberia, a parous adult was recorded in April; in Ghana, several females were trapped in September and March, with three lactating young whose eyes were not yet opened; in western Ghana, eight females, each nesting with 2-3 young, were found in September—November; and in Cameroon, an adult female containing two embryos was found in February, and a lactating female was caught at the same locality in April.

Activity patterns. Nagtglas’s African Dormice are nocturnal and are thought to sleep during the day, curling up in their nests with the tail folded over the head.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Nagtglas’s African Dormouse is arboreal and solitary, except for lactating females. They climb well but move slowly on the ground. Nests are often made in hollow trees, and one female made a nest of dry banana fibers inside an old banana plant stem. Eight females with young trapped in banana groves made their nests of dry banana leaves. Nagtglas’s African Dormouse was considered somewhat common and widespread throughout the West African rainforest and has been reported to be less shy and not as easily scared by humans as the smaller species of West African dormice.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Because of its expansive distribution, presumably large population, occurrence in several protected areas, tolerance of habitat alteration, Nagtglas’s African Dormouse probably is not declining fast enough to qualify for inclusion in a more threatened category. Ability of Nagtglas’s African Dormice to inhabit secondary growth and disturbed areas indicates that they are less sensitive to habitat modification than species associated with intact forests or undisturbed habitat; however, most specimens were collected from hollow trees, suggesting that presence of suitable nesting sites, in the form of tree cavities or suitable plant species, are important habitat requirements. Intense logging, especially combined with overgrazing, would likely prove detrimental. Another threat to large and small mammals in this region includes hunting of bushmeat.

Bibliography. Aellen (1965), Allen, G.M. (1939), Amori & Gippoliti (2002), Ansell (1978), Coe (1975), Decher et al. (2005), Denys et al. (2014), Dosso (1975), Ellerman et al. (1953), Everard (1968), Genest-Villard (1978), Grubb (2004), Grubb & Ansell (1996), Grubb & Schlitter (2008c), Happold (1987), Heim de Balsac (1967), Holden (1993, 2005, 2013), Jeffrey (1973), Jentink (1888), Pavlinov & Potapova (2003), Potapova (2001), Robbins & Schlitter (1981), de Rochebrune (1883), Rosevear (1969), Schlitter et al. (1985), Tranier & Dosso (1979).

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Distribution. W & C Africa, from SE Sierra Leone to E Cameroon (excluding Benin), SW Central African Republic and Gabon. The S distributional limit of this species is unknown, as the Gabon specimen has no specific locality information.