Acomys (Acomys) ignitus Dollman 1910

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 : 1196

Acomys (Acomys) ignitus Dollman 1910

Acomys (Acomys) ignitus Dollman 1910 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 6: 229.

Type Locality: Kenya, Voi.

Vernacular Names: Fiery Spiny Mouse.

Distribution: Usambara Mtns in NE Tanzania (specimens in FMNH), and Kenya (F. Petter, 1983, reports the species from Somalia but gives no exact locality). See Bates (1994); range limits unknown.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Acomys . F. Petter (1983) recognized ignitus as a valid species, clashing with Setzer (1975), who regarded it as part of A. dimidiatus . F. Petter's action reflects reality, reinforcing the views of Hollister (1919) and Ellerman (1941), who recognized ignitus as a separate species, but associated the names pulchellus , kempi , and montanus either as subspecies or direct synonyms (we arrange those names with A. kempi ; see that account). Janecek et al. (1991) considered ignitus distinct and phylogenetically closely related to A. cahirinus , based on genetic data. Their conclusions, along with morphological data ( Denys et al., 1994; our examination of skins and skulls) and analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b sequences ( Barome et al. 1998, 2000, 2001 a) define the specific integrity of ignitus .