The southern multimammate mouse or southern African mastomys (''Mastomys coucha'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. ...

which is endemic to southern Africa (

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, and

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). It is called a multimammate mouse because it can have 8 to 12 pairs of mammae (milk producing glands), in comparison other mouse species only have 5 pairs.

Diet and habitat

The southern multimammate mouse is a nocturnal species considered to be an ecological generalist, and is found in a broad spectrum of natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s. These habitats include open grassland (dry and moist),

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

(dry and moist), and semidesert karoo land. ''M. coucha'' is generally thought to have three main disjunct geographical populations, but recent studies have shown extensive haplotype sharing between the three populations. ''M. coucha'' is an opportunist omnivore. Its diet consists of a variety of plant and animal resources, including cannibalism when under severe resource limitations. Due to this generalist behavior ''M. coucha'' is often found in disturbed environments (drought, fire,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

, etc.) and its presence could be an indicator of an ecosystem’s integrity.

Identification

''M. coucha'' is sympatric with ''M. natalensis'' and the two species cannot be distinguished by superficial appearance alone. ''M. coucha'' and ''M. natalensis'' can be definitively identified by karyotyping (they have different numbers of chromosomes) or DNA sequencing. However, on closer analysis they do have anatomical (cranial, dental and phallic morphology) and physiological (hemoglobin pattern and pheromones) differences. Many academic labs and publicly available animals were derived from a colony originally misidentified as ''M. natalensis''.

Research

''M. coucha'' has been used frequently in medical research. Unlike the common murine research model, ''M. coucha'' has been maintained as an outbred line so it has maintained the genetic heterogeneity necessary for many studies involving immune response. ''M. coucha'' also has a naturally occurring papillomavirus that mimics the infection cycle and symptoms seen in humans with HPVs. These two traits have made it a good model to study vaccines against HPV infections. Similarly, unlike the common murine research model, ''M. coucha'' can support the complete lifecycle of ''B. malayi'', a parasite that causes

lymphatic filariasis Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide, impacting over a hundred million people and manifesting itself in ...

. This has made it a key tool in discovering new drugs and vaccines to fight an infection that affects an estimated 130 million people.

Domestication

The southern multimammate rat is currently being bred in the US and Canada as a pet, and as a replacement food source for reptiles, replacing the brown rat as a viable food source for picky eaters. It is also recognized as one of the natural food sources for ball pythons. They are also being used for stomach cancer research, among other ailments. Europeans have begun breeding them for companion animal use, namely in Germany and England. This trend is also catching, slowly, in the US and Canada. Only recently has it been introduced to the pet trade, and is more often kept as a feeder rodent for snakes than as a pet.

Diet and habitat

Identification

Research

Domestication

References

Further reading