Otomys typus Heuglin, 1877

Guy G. Musser & Michael D. Carleton, 1993, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 501-755 : 682

Otomys typus Heuglin, 1877 . Reise in Nordost-Afrika, 2:77.

TYPE LOCALITY: Abyssinia (= Ethiopia), Shoa .

DISTRIBUTION: Disjunct occurrence at high elevations in E Africa, from Ethiopian highlands south through Uganda and W Kenya, to the Nyika Plateau of N Malawi and adjacent Zambia and to the Uzungwe Mnts of C Tanzania.

SYNONYMS: dartmouthi , degeni , fortior , giloensis, helleri , jacksoni , malkensis, malleus, orestes , percivali , thomasi , squalus, uzungwensis , zinki .

COMMENTS: Dieterlen (1968) and Petter (1982) viewed typus as another variant of a highly polymorphic O. irroratus , a conclusion which seems at odds with their morphological discrimination as presented elsewhere (e.g., Ansell, 1978; Bohmann, 1952; Kingdon, 1974; Misonne, 1974). The list of synonyms observes the classifications of Bohmann (1952) and Misonne (1974). Their conspecific stature is highly suspect and invites rigorous specimen-based corroboration that also addresses possible relationships to certain forms masquerading under tropicalis . The occurrence of greater species endemism thoughout the isolated East African highlands and volcanoes deserves more serious consideration than it has received to date.