Xerus rutilus (Cretzschmar, 1828) . In Rüppell, Atlas Reise Nordl. Afr., Zool. Säugeth., p. 59.

TYPE LOCALITY: Ethiopia, eastern slope of Abyssynia. "Der östliche Abhang Abyssiniens, wo es häufig vorkommmt." Probably Massawa, according to Mertens (1925:26) " ... wahrsheinlich Massaua" .

DISTRIBUTION: SE Sudan, E and S Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, NE Uganda, NE Tanzania.

SYNONYMS: abessinicus (Gmelin, 1788); brachyotis (Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1833); dabagala Heuglin, 1861; dorsalis Dollman, 1911; fuscus (Huet, 1880); intensus Thomas, 1904; massaicus Toschi, 1945; rufifrons Dollman, 1911; saturatus (Neumann, 1900); stephanicus Thomas, 1906.

COMMENTS: Subgenus Xerus . Chromosomes described by Nadler and Hoffmann (1974). Reviewed by O'Shea (1991, Mammalian Species, 370).