Rhabdomys pumilio (Sparrman, 1784)

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 : 662-663

Rhabdomys pumilio (Sparrman, 1784) . K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. Stockholm, p. 236.

TYPE LOCALITY: S Africa, S Cape Prov., east of Knysna, Tsitsikamma Forest, Slangrivier .

DISTRIBUTION: S and C Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, E Zimbabwe, WC Mozambique, Malawi (Nyika Plateau and Mulanje massif), NE Zambia (Nyika plateau), and highlands in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and SE Zaire.

SYNONYMS: angolae , bechuanae , bethuliensis, chakae, cinereus , cradockensis, deserti , dilectus , diminutus , donavani , fouriei, griquae, griquoides, intermedius , lineatus , pumilio var. major , meridionalis , moshesh, namaquensis , namibensis, nyasae , orangiae , prieskae, septemvittatus , typicus , vaalensis, vittatus .

COMMENTS: When Wroughton (1905b) reviewed pumilio , he distinguished four groups, each with different forms, and although unsure about the taxonomic status to give the forms, thought each group represented a separate species. Distribution of character variation, however, forced him to conclude that (p. 630) " in view of the absolute identity of pattern, the variability of coloration, and the difficulty of deciding the inter-relationship of the different forms, the simpler and safer way is to call them all subspecies of the original species pumilio ." Wroughton's view prevails today. Checklists ( Allen, 1939; Ellerman, 1941; Ellerman et al., 1953), faunal studies (e.g., Ansell, 1978; Ansell and Dowsett, 1988; Roberts, 1951; Skinner and Smithers, 1990; Smithers, 1971), a study of possible influences of climate on length of tail ( Coetzee, 1970), and preliminary studies on geographic variation (see Meester et al., 1986:275) have yet to critically analyze patterns of chromatic and morphological variation in context of assessing whether only one or several species exist. Hill and Carter (1941: 101) recognized two species in Angola; R. pumilio from central and southern regions, and R. bechuanae form the arid southwestern portion north of Namibia. They noted the lack of intergradation between the two kinds and we have not found any evidence that such intergradation exists. The significance of this observation can only be assessed by careful sysematic review of Rhabdomys .

Morphology of digestive system in relation to diet and evolution described by Perrin and Curtis (1980).