Crossarchus obscurus F. G. Cuvier, 1825 . In E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and F. G. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mammifères, pt. 3, 5(47), "Mangue" 3 pp.

TYPE LOCALITY: "côtes occidentales de l'Afrique, et vraisemblablement des parties qui sont au midi de la Gambie " restricted by Cuvier (1829:158) to " Sierra Leone " .

DISTRIBUTION: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone.

SYNONYMS: platycephalus Goldman, 1984; somalicus Thomas, 1895.

COMMENTS: Goldman (1984, 1987) separated central (C. platycephalus) from western (C. obscurus) African populations based on phenetic differences in skull proportions. Wozencraft (1989b) argued for consideration of these populations as conspecific. Reviewed by Goldman (1987, Mammalian Species, 290).