Kaszab Zoltán (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 74. (Budapest 1982)
Demeter, A. ; Topál, G.: Ethiopian mammals in the Hungarian Natural History Museum
Mus proconodon RHOADS, 1896 Specimen: Sodere* (1 $ , S +S).- Measurements : HB 80.1, T 55.9, HF 13.8, E 11.1, W 12. Notes : The single specimen has a fully white belly, it is larger than the M. mahomet captured on the plateau, or those plotted by YALDEN & al. (1976: Fig. 4) with UMR 3.7, CBL 18.9, so it was assigned to M. proconodon. There is, however, a thin orange line on the flanks, much thinner than in M. mahomet. According to YALDEN & al. (1976), only the reverse situation has been recorded, i.e., specimens with orange line and apparently referrable to M. mahomet had pure white belly. The specimen was trapped in a runway of Arvicanthis dembeensis. In contrast, around Addis Ababa M. mahomet were trapped in lush vegetation of grass and herbs, although runways of larger rodents were present. Rattus rattus (LINNAEUS, 1758) Specimens : Akaki river, Addis Ababa (7 çf +9 9, S +S), Addis Ababa suburb (1 $, S+S), Welkite* (1 çf, S+S), Assab (1 $, S +S).M e a s u r e m e n t s : HB 142.7 (112.6-174.5), T 170.5 (133.4-224.0), HF 31.4 (28.3-34.6), E 21.2 (18.9-23.3), W 100 (47-192). Notes: R. rattus is said to be strictly commensal in Ethiopia (YALDEN &al., 1976), though RUPP (1979) around Jimma, and GETACHEW (pers. comm.) some distance from Koka captured specimes in uncultivated land. At Akaki river, 7 of the 16 rats were taken in gallery forest and hedges in cultivated fields some 100-200 m from houses, where the rest of the specimens were taken in both the roof and the basement. At this locality two forms were present: R. r. frugivorus, of which 2 very distinct specimens were captured in the gallery forest, and 1 from a roof in the town, and R. r. alexandrinus, which was taken both indoors and outdoors. At Welkite a black R. r. rattus was collected. It would be interesting to trace the history of the apperance of R. rattus in Ethiopia along similar lines as done by DIETERLEN (1979). An indication of the process of colonization may be obtained by looking at the published records listed by YALDEN & al. (1976). The Red Sea coast was apparently inhabited by the first half of the last century, the highlands were reached much later, only during this century. KOVÁCS did not obtain any in the Errer valley in 1911 although he took other commensal species, but Rattus rattus was reported from that area much later by INGERSOL(1968). Praomys fumatus (PETERS, 1878) Specimens : Errer valley* (1 sex?, S +S), Langano (3 rf +4 $, S +S). - Measurements: HB 100.3 (91.2-113.7), T 155.1 (138.2-176.4), HF 21.9 (20.9-22.9), E 18 (14.6-21.7), W 36 (25-51), UMRC 4.75 (4.35-5.0). Notes : The specimen from the Errer valley was collected in 1911 by KOVÁCS, and it is apparently the oldest known specimen from Ethiopia, although it remained unidentified in the collection till recently. At Langano, the specimens were captured mainly on rocky outcrops above the lake. At the foot of the ledges, where the terrain was not so rocky, only one P. fumatus was trapped with 5 Mastomys. As regards measurements, the Langano specimens appear to be closer to P. f. brockmanni than to P. f. allesoni (HAYMAN, 1960), though some of the larger specimens have definitely rufous tinge on the posterior part of the back. FARHANG-AZAD and SCHLUTTER (1978) apparently captured 16 specimens of this species at Koka. Praomys albipes (RÜPPELL, 1842) Specimens: 8 km south of Dessie (1 $ , S +S), Akaki river, Addis Ababa (3 çf, S +S), Kutaber(lr/ +4 9, S+S), "Ethiopia" (1 sex?, A), "Ethiopia" (1 9 , S+S). - Measurements: HB 131.9 (114.6-151.0), T 153.4 (115.5-178.4), HF 26.1 (25.6-28.8), E 22.5 (20.7-25.5), W 85 (54-120). Notes : Two old specimens in the collection are without definite locality data. The one obtained by KOVÁCS in 1911 may have been trapped around Harar, as far as can be delocated from the dates and localities of other specimens in his collection. The 3 specimens from Akaki river were trapped in a hedge row and bushes in cultivated fields. The other specimens with definite locality data were taken in much more natural habitats, including a narrow valley and rock ledges. 22 Természettudományi Múzeum Évkönyve 1982
