Dephomys Thomas, 1926

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 : 590

Dephomys Thomas, 1926 . Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 17:177.

TYPE SPECIES: Mus defua Miller, 1900 .

COMMENTS: Another genus founded by Thomas and either relegated to Rattus as a subgenus or combined with Stochomys , which was then treated as a subgenus of either Rattus or Aethomys (see discussions in D. H. S. Davis, 1965; Rosevear, 1969; and Van der Straeten, 1984). The generic integrity of Dephomys was recognized by Misonne (1969) and Rosevear (1969), who also suggested it was not especially closely related to Stochomys , which was the conventional view. Molar characters and morphometric data clearly point to Hybomys as the closest phylogenetic ally of Dephomys ( Misonne, 1969; Van der Straeten, 1984).