Micaelamys granti (Wroughton 1908)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1381

Micaelamys granti (Wroughton 1908)

[Mus] granti Wroughton 1908 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 1: 257.

Type Locality: South Africa, NE Western Cape Province, Deelfontein, north of Richmond, (see Chimimba, 1998:435, for details).

Vernacular Names: Grant's Micaelamys.

Distribution: South Africa, known only from the fynbos, succulent karoo, and nama-Karoo biomes ( Mugo et al., 1995) in SC South Africa (the Great Karoo region; Chimimba et al., 1999:508; de Graaff, 1997 w; Skinner and Smithers, 1990:279).

Conservation: IUCN – Least Concern as Aethomys granti .

Discussion: Meester et al. (1986:292) and Chimimba (1998:435) provided historical taxonomic allocations of granti , which ranged from Myomys , through Rattus and Mastomys , and finally to Micaelamys as either genus or subgenus of Aethomys . Reviewed and compared with M. namaquensis , its closest relative, by Skinner and Smithers (1990) and also reviewed by de Graaff (1997 w). Analysis of geographic variation ( Chimimba et al., 1998) suggested a clinal pattern (southwesterly-northeasterly) with size of cranium negatively correlated with longitude and positively with latitude. No significant steps in the clinal variation were detected and subspecies were not recognized.