Tachyoryctes ruddi Thomas 1909

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Spalacidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 907-926 : 925

Tachyoryctes ruddi Thomas 1909

Tachyoryctes ruddi Thomas 1909 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 4: 547.

Type Locality: Kenya, Mt Elgon, Kirui, 6000 ft (1830 m).

Vernacular Names: Rudd's African Mole Rat.

Synonyms: Tachyoryctes badius Thomas 1909 .

Distribution: SW Kenya between foothills of Mt Elgon and Port Florence on NE margin of Lake Victoria ( Hollister, 1919), Ugandan and Kenyan slopes of Mt Elgon, SW Uganda ( Lunde and Sarmiento, 2002), and NW Tanzania (N Kagera Prov.).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Thomas (1909 b) described T. ruddi as being about the same body size as T. daemon but differing in a suite of cranial traits; he also described badius as a subspecies of T. ruddi . This species and T. ankoliae have been taken together in the Kalinzu Forest Reserve, SW Uganda ( Lunde and Sarmiento, 2002). Localities in NW Tanzania represent T. daemon according to Swynnerton and Hayman (1951), but we suspect that they represent T. ruddi . Tachyoryctes ankoliae has been reported from the same region in NE Tanzania (Bukoba; Swynnerton and Hayman, 1951). Ranges of the small-bodied T. ruddi , T. naivashae , and T. daemon are allopatric in mountains and high plains encircling Lake Victoria; specimens from intervening regions between the ranges and critical systematic revision should reveal the actual genetic relationships among these populations. Hollister (1919) commented on variation in pelage traits. Habitat and altitudinal distribution of T. ruddi on Ugandan slopes of Mt Elgon documented by Clausnitzer (2001) and Clausnitzer and Kityo (2001).