The Rusty-Bellied Brush-Furred Rat (Lophuromys sikapusi) is a species of rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

 in the family Muridae

Muridae

Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....

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It is found in Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

, Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

, Central African Republic

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

, Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

, Gabon

Gabon

Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

, Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

, Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

, Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

, Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

, and Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

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Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

, arable land

Arable land

In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...

, and pastureland.
Lophuromys sikapus is an African rodent species. They belong in the Order Rodentia, and Family Muridae. They are characterized by a deep colored fur coat with a strong odor.

Habitat

The range of L. sikapusi species extends from Sierra Leone to the Ivory Coast, Uganda, North Angola, Tanzania, Benin, West Kenya, and Zaire. It is also found on the northern bank of the Congo River in Zaire. Out of the Lophuromys species, they occupy the largest geographical range. They are dependent on moist grass land habitats, and are absent in very dry land or closed forests. Tropical lowland and subtropical land with adequate moisture is their usual habitat. They are also Savannah dwellers that prefer habitat with some brushes.

Morphology

The rusty-bellied brush furred mice have dark color coat, stiff textured fur, and a round built body with short legs. There is no significant sexual dimorphism in shape between the genders. Males are larger in size than their female counterpart.
L.sikapusi has a shorter tail length than L.angolensis. They weigh from 45 to 90 grams, and 100-135 mm in length. They have very short tail length. L.sikapusi have a shrewd-like appearance of rostrum. The rostrum, or nose area of L. sikapusi is longer than the other African rodents species such as L.flavopunctatus.

Compared to Lemniscomys striatus specimens , L. sikapusi has relatively shorter tail length and hind foot length.. The head to body length measures 123.86 mm, and can be up to 152 mm long. It has short tail length, but approximately similar head to tail body length when compared with other African rodents. The average tail length is 69.78 mm, and can be at a maximum of 82 mm.

Diet

The diet of this species is characterized by insects, soft-bodied invertebrates, and vegetable materials.
Their diet also consists of ants, which are very abundant in moist tropical lands. Food items include steam, palm, seeds, invertebrates, and fibre. They also eat small animals, and frogs.

Dry habitat inhibits the food resources needed, and it may reduce shelter and increase exposure to predators. However, particularly wet season increases disease rate.

The digestive system of L.sikapusi, especially the stomach structure is very similar to Onychomys. There is a distinctive bump along the great curvature in the stomach. It is considered to be a bilocular stomach, that aids in digesting plant-based diets. It allows adaptation to a variety of food sources.

The stomach of L.sikapusi does not show insectivorous diet anatomical arrangements. It is thought to aid the young to absorb large amount of milk in their stomach during period of growth. The stomach of L.sikapusi lack pyloric glands. The stomach’s large area allows for heavy mixing of bolus, and it maintains a relatively high pH so the enzyme salivary amylase may continue to digest carbohydrates, starch, and glycogen from the food consumed.

Behavior & Growth

L. sikapusi have territorial behavior similar to other African rodents. Scientists have observed the bodily damages such as torn ears, and mutilated tails as a result from fighting among themselves.
They prefer to be alone, and often fight when placed in close proximity to each other. Species such as the Mastomys rat may be competitors to the Lophuromys species.

Large female mice give birth to larger litters, as many as four infants. The average amount of offspring from each litter is two.
The infant rusty-bellied brush-furred mice become active in four to seven days, and their eyes begin to open. The coat is completed growing in a week after birth. The infants weigh about 25 grams by the tenth day. A young rusty bellied brush furred rat is called a pup, nestling, or pinkie. Females are “doe” and males are “buck".