ABSTRACT
Mount Herman (MH) is a high mountainous ridge on the eastern bank at the northern part of the Great Rift Valley. The rodent fauna of MH includes two field-mice species of the Paleoarctic genus Apodemus. At altitudes of up to 1700 m, still within the forest belt, the cannon species is the broad-toothed field-mouse A. mystacinus. In the shrubland between 1700-2200 m, the newly described endemic species A. hermonensis is the cannon field-mouse. The existence of the two Apodemus species on MH offers an opportunity to compare thermoregulatory abilities of these two species which differ in size as well as in their distribution regarding altitude. The rodent fauna of MH offers a unique opportunity, as the species inhabiting it may suffer from relatively dry conditions and high temperatures during the summer, although these can be interupted by cold spells.
