Awash multimammate mouse
# Awash multimammate mouse

The Awash multimammate mouse or Awash mastomys (Mastomys awashensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in Ethiopia. Phylogentically the Awash multimammate mouse is the sister taxon of the Natal multimammate mouse (M. natalensis), a species found almost everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara and considered a serious agricultural pest throughout its range.

## Habitat

Its natural habitats are dry savanna and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is also considered as a pest for grain crops.

## Ecology

The species' ecology has been studied in detail in the croplands of the Degua Tembien district in Tigray, where it commonly occurs in crop fields, domestic and peri-domestic habitats in wider altitudinal range (1500 m up to 2700 m). Being a nocturnal and burrowing species, it prefers crop fields with vertisols. Likewise, the multimammate mouse possibly contributes to a significant portion to the rodent diet of night-active raptors such as Barn owl.

