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 .