Cricetomys Waterhouse 1840

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 930-955 : 931

Cricetomys Waterhouse 1840

Cricetomys Waterhouse 1840 , Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1840: 2.

Type Species: Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse 1840

Species and subspecies: 4 species:

Species Cricetomys ansorgei Thomas 1904

Species Cricetomys emini Wroughton 1910

Species Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse 1840

Species Cricetomys kivuensis Lönnberg 1917

Discussion: Cricetomyini. Six nominal species were recognized (e.g., Allen, 1939) before Ellerman (1941) summarily reduced all to subspecies of C. gambianus . Genest-Villard’s (1967) revision provided evidence of two kinds, a predominantly savanna-dwelling species ( C. gambianus ) and a lowland forest form ( C. emini ), an arrangement broadly compatible with Hinton’s (1919b) perception of harsh-furred and sleek-furred groups. Her character states and univariate ratios for discriminating two species are generally workable in West Africa but break down in eastern and southern Africa; based on series in MCZ and USNM, four kinds of Cricetomys can be morphologically sorted. For studies of the gastrointestinal tract interpreted in the context of taxonomic comparisons, trophic niche, and digestive function see Knight and Knight-Eloff (1987) and Perrin and Curtis (1980).