Mastomys huberti (Wroughton 1909)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1364

Mastomys huberti (Wroughton 1909)

[Mastomys] huberti (Wroughton 1909) , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 1: 255.

Type Locality: N Nigeria, Zungeru.

Vernacular Names: Hubert's Mastomys.

Distribution: Recorded from S coastal Mauritania ( Granjon et al., 1997 a, 2002 b), Senegal, Mali, Burkina-Faso, and N Nigeria ( Granjon et al., 1997 b); limits unresolved.

Discussion: Characterized by 2n = 32, FNa = 44-46 ( Hubert et al., 1983; Duplantier et al., 1990 a; Britton-Davidian et al., 1995) or 2n = 32, FNa = 42 ( Volobouev et al., 2002 b). This is not the same species as M. natalensis , which is also characterized by 2n = 32, but a different FN (52-54; Britton-Davidian et al., 1995), hemoglobin pattern (C. B. Robbins et al., 1983), and apparently serum proteins ( Robbins and Van der Straeten, 1989). Duplantier et al. (1990 a, b) contrasted results of protein electrophoresis and chromosomal traits derived from Senegalese samples of M. huberti , M. natalensis , and M. erythroleucus . Reproductive distinctions among M. huberti , M. erythroleucus , and M. natalensis in Senegal are documented by Duplantier et al. (1996). Phylogenetic analysis of chromosomal data by Britton-Davidian et al. (1995) indicated that M. huberti is more closely related to M. natalensis than to M. coucha and M. erythroleucus , the other two species analyzed.

Qumsiyeh et al. (1990) reported a 2n = 32, FNa = 50-54 from Kenyan samples they considered to be different from that of M. natalensis and regarded them as the same species having a similar karyotype from Somalia reported by Capanna et al. (1982), who identified their material as M. huberti . Qumsiyeh et al. also claimed (without examining holotypes) that hildebrandtii (Ndi, Taita, Kenya, is type locality) is an older name for huberti ; their allocation was followed by Musser and Carleton (1993). Granjon et al. (1997 b) explained that the karyotype characteristic of M. huberti (2n = 32, FNa = 44-46) has not been found in samples from East Africa and is restricted to West Africa, and the samples reported by Qumsiyeh et al. (1990) do not represent M. huberti . Granjon et al. also noted (p. 8) "The existence of an East African species distinct from M. natalensis , and that may be M. hildebrandtii is not sufficiently supported to date." Van der Straeten and Robbins (1997) considered the holotype of hildebrandtii to be a Mastomys , not an example of Praomys , but did not allocate it to species. We place hildebrandtii in the synonymy of M. natalensis (see also Lecompte, 2003) .