Heliosciurus mutabilis (Peters, 1852) Bericht Verhandl. K. Preuss Akad. Wiss., Berlin, 17:273.

TYPE LOCALITY: Mozambique, Boror, 19 km NW of Quelimane, 17°S. "Africa orientalis, Boror, 17° Lat. Austr."

DISTRIBUTION: Malawi; S and SW highlands, Tanzania; NW of the Zambezi R near Beira (Mozambique); Chirinda Forest, Melsetter Dist., Sabi/Lundi River confluence, Vumba, Umtali (SE Zimbabwe).

SYNONYMS: beirae Roberts, 1913; chirindensis Roberts, 1913; shirensis (Gray, 1867); smithersi (Lundholm, 1955); vumbae Roberts, 1937.

COMMENTS: Allen (1939) considered mutabilis a distinct species. Ellerman (1940) treated it as a subspecies of H. gambianus following Ingoldby (1927). Rosevear (1963), followed by Amtmann (1975), treated it as a subspecies of H. rufobrachium . Grubb (1982b) again treated H. mutabilis as a distinct species.