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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

"Mouse" ID, Namibia (1 Viewer)

opisska

opisska

rabid twitcher
Czech Republic
Small rodents are the most mysterious creatures of the world. You see one, you open a book and it can be literally anything from a dozen of species! I personally think that Desert Pygmy Mouse fits this quite well, but so do even some small Gerbils (there is no picture of the end of the tail).... heeeeelp!

Taken in Halali, Etosha, in the waterhole viewing area.
 

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It's definitely a mouse (not a gerbil etc). Without any books to hand I would say either Namaqua Rock Rat or Red Veld Rat (both should be in range) and are very similar.

I wouldn't rule out Desert Pygmy Mouse just yet but do you have any memory of how large the mouse was? As their name suggests, DPM are tiny.
 
Mike Richardson said:
It's definitely a mouse (not a gerbil etc). Without any books to hand I would say either Namaqua Rock Rat or Red Veld Rat (both should be in range) and are very similar.

I wouldn't rule out Desert Pygmy Mouse just yet but do you have any memory of how large the mouse was? As their name suggests, DPM are tiny.
Click to expand...

According to my wife's brilliant memory, the mouse wasn't much larger than the core of an apple (the thing left over after eating), yet it was able to drag sch thing away easily to her surprise.
 
The head/body of Desert Pygmy Mouse is 6cm at most. They have a tail shorter than body length, and a patch of white hair at the base of each ear. They also have a very round body shape.

In my opinion the animal in your photo looks much more like Micaelamys namaquensis or Aethomys chrysophilus. Both can be very common around campsites, although the former prefers rocky areas. Unfortunately, even in the hand they can be difficult to tell apart.
 
Mike Richardson said:
The head/body of Desert Pygmy Mouse is 6cm at most. They have a tail shorter than body length, and a patch of white hair at the base of each ear. They also have a very round body shape.

In my opinion the animal in your photo looks much more like Micaelamys namaquensis or Aethomys chrysophilus. Both can be very common around campsites, although the former prefers rocky areas. Unfortunately, even in the hand they can be difficult to tell apart.
Click to expand...

Thanks, we put it as "either". Still much better than "some of this dozen" as we had it before. I wish one day I could ID mice as well as I do birds now (even with all the deficiencies I have with that still :))
 
opisska said:
Thanks, we put it as "either". Still much better than "some of this dozen" as we had it before. I wish one day I could ID mice as well as I do birds now (even with all the deficiencies I have with that still :))
Click to expand...

A decent field guide certainly helps. I would recommend 'Stuarts' Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa (including Angola, Zambia and Malawi)' by Chris and Mathilde Stuart. Just make sure you get the updated revision.
 
Mike Richardson said:
A decent field guide certainly helps. I would recommend 'Stuarts' Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa (including Angola, Zambia and Malawi)' by Chris and Mathilde Stuart. Just make sure you get the updated revision.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is indeed the book we have. It is awesome for most of the big animals, but the small rodents could use more love still.
 
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