Malagasy mountain mouse

The Malagasy mountain mouse or Koopman’s montane voalavo is a rodent within the subfamily Nesomyinae. It is monotypic within the genus Monticolomys, and is closely related to the big-footed mouse. A specimen was captured in 1929 during the Mission Zoologique Franco-Anglo-Américaine to Madagascar.

About Malagasy mountain mouse in brief

The Malagasy mountain mouse or Koopman’s montane voalavo is a rodent within the subfamily Nesomyinae. It is monotypic within the genus Monticolomys, and is closely related to the big-footed mouse. A specimen was captured in 1929 during the Mission Zoologique Franco-Anglo-Américaine to Madagascar, but the rodents obtained by the expedition were never studied in detail. In 1993, Steven Goodman rediscovered the species on Madagascar and in 1996 he and Michael Carleton finally published a formal description of the animal. It has small, rounded, densely haired ears and broad feet with well-developed pads. The long tail lacks a tuft at the tip. Although habitat destruction may pose a threat, it is classified as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List.

It occurs in both montane forest and human-disturbed grasslands and feeds on fruits and seeds. It climbs trees but also lives on the ground. The tail is covered with small scales and small scales. The head is 84mm to 101mm long and the body is 101mm to 84mm wide. The ears are densely covered with grayish-brown vibrissae—whiskers above the mouth—are present. There are white hairs on the upper sides of the upper metapodials and tufts of surrounding hair on the bases of the claws. Females have six mammae, as is present in Eliurus and Macrotarsomys. The male has six m ammae and as present in Macrotaros and Eliurus. The female has six mammaes, as present in Eliurus and Mac rotaros. It lives in the highlands of eastern Madagascar.

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