Ecology, diversity and distribution of terrestrial small mammals in southeastern Sierra Leone

A comprehensive inventory of terrestrial small mammals in southeastern Sierra Leone reveals the presence of 28 species, including two potential country records: Dephomys cf. eburneae and Crocidura longipes. This raises the known rodent and shrew species counts for Sierra Leone to 42 and 15, respectively. The study employed diverse trapping methods—Sherman live traps, Victor traps, Tomahawk live traps, and pitfall traps—across five habitats within five sites, achieving an average trap success rate of 7% over 13,770 trap nights. Morphological and DNA barcode-based identification confirmed the species' diversity and distribution. This research not only advances the understanding of small mammal ecology in Sierra Leone but also underscores the conservation significance of the study sites within the Gola-Tiwai Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate.

Abu-Bakarr, I., Decher, J., Hutterer, R., Astrin, J. J., Lebbie, A., Bakarr, M. I., & Wadsworth, R. (2026). Ecology, diversity and distribution of terrestrial small mammals in southeastern Sierra Leone. Mammalia, 90(4), 365–386. https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2024-0176