Northern voalavo
The northern voalavo is a rodent in the family Nesomyidae found in the highlands of northern Madagascar. Discovered in 1994 and formally described in 1998, it is the type species of genus Voalavi. DNA sequence data suggests it may be more closely related to Grandidier’s tufted-tailed rat than to other species of the closely related genus Eliurus.
About Northern voalavo in brief
The northern voalavo is a rodent in the family Nesomyidae found in the highlands of northern Madagascar. Discovered in 1994 and formally described in 1998, it is the type species of genus Voalavi. DNA sequence data suggests it may be more closely related to Grandidier’s tufted-tailed rat than to other species of the closely related genus Eliurus. It is a small, mouse-like rodent with soft, gray fur which is only slightly darker above than below. Nocturnal and solitary, it lives mainly on the ground, but it can climb and probably eats plant matter. The skull is delicate, with a long, narrow rostrum, narrow interorbital region and no development of ridges on the braincase. The molars are relatively high-crowned. Body mass is 17 to 25. 5 g. The fur is soft, and appears dark gray on most of the upperparts, but brownish on the sides. On the back, the main part of the fur, the cover of the three-colored hairs, are the mystacial part.
The longer guard hairs are black under the fur of the under the ears, but the individual hairs are gray for about three quarters of their length. The ears are short and rounded. The tips of the ears are white at the tips, except for those at the chin, which are vibraeiss against the head when pressed against the ears. The fur on the back is gray, followed by a narrow light buff and a black tip. It also resembles a small species of Eliurus but the fur is darker and there is no tail tuft. Despite a small range, it’s classified as ‘Least Concern’ because it lacks obvious threats and much of its range is within protected areas. It differs from the very similar eastern voalAVo mainly in some measurements, such as a greater tail length.
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This page is based on the article Northern voalavo published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
