Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae Author Wilson, Don E. Author Reeder, DeeAnn text 2005 The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2 930 955 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Dendromus mystacalis Heuglin 1863 Dendromus mystacalis Heuglin 1863 , Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol., Halle, 30 (2): suppl. 5 . Type Locality: Ethiopia , Baschlo region (Ellerman et al., 1953, offered additional comments). Vernacular Names: Chestnut African Climbing Mouse . Synonyms: Dendromus acraeus Wroughton 1909 ; Dendromus ansorgei Thomas and Wroughton 1905 ; Dendromus capitis Heller 1912 ; Dendromus jamesoni Wroughton 1909 ; Dendromus lineatus Heller 1911 ; Dendromus nairobae Osgood 1910 ; Dendromus ochropus Osgood 1910 ; Dendromus pallescens Osgood 1910 ; Dendromus pongolensis Roberts 1931 ; Dendromus uthmoelleri Bohmann 1939 ; Dendromus whytei Wroughton 1909 . Distribution: Much of C and E Africa (G. M. Allen and Loveridge, 1942 ; Ansell, 1978 , 1989; Ansell and Dowsett, 1988 ; Delany, 1975 ; Lawrence and Loveridge, 1953 ; Smithers, 1971 ; Smithers and Lobao Tello, 1976 ; Smithers and Wilson, 1979 ; Stanley et al., 1998 b ), including S Sudan ( Setzer, 1956 ) and Ethiopia (Lavrenchenko, 2000; Yalden et al., 1996 ), as far south as Angola ( Crawford-Cabral, 1966 b , 1998 ) and E South Africa (de Graaff, 1997 ee ; Skinner and Smithers, 1990:308 ; Taylor, 1998); range based also on specimens in AMNH , BMNH , FMNH , and MCZ . Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Discussion: Upperparts are bright ochraceous-buff without a stripe in most samples, a faint strip in others; underparts range from white (usual) to buffy gray, the coloration typical of N Dem. Rep. Congo and AMNH series from Angola ( ansorgei , as per Thomas and Wroughton, 1905 ; Hill and Carter, 1941 ; and Hayman, 1963 b ). Those samples without a faint middorsal stripe closely resemble D. messorius but are smaller and usually have buffy gray underparts (always white in messorius ). This species is a morphological miniature of southern African D. mesomelas , the two are probably close phylogenetic allies, and both constitute one of the two species-pairs occurring in southern Africa ( Avery, 1998 ). Morphological variation within this widely ranging species should be investigated to determine whether more than one species is represented.