The Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse (''Dendromus kahuziensis'') is a

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 ...

found only in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

; it is also threatened by fire. Only two specimens have ever been found. Both were found within 100m of each other on Mount Kahuzi. Its body length (excluding tail) is 50-100mm and its tail length is 65-132mm. Its habitat is tropical forests, and to navigate these forests it may use its semi-prehensile tail to hold on to tree branches. Its markings are brownish on the top and white to yellow on its underside, with strongly dark rings around its eyes. As with other ''Dendromus'', it has three well defined toes.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered * Dendromus Rodents of Africa Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Critically endangered fauna of Africa EDGE species Mammals described in 1969 {{muroid-stub