Order Rodentia - Family Muridae 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 1189 1531 book chapter 0-8018-8221-4 10.5281/zenodo.7316535 Mus (Nannomys) neavei Thomas 1910 Mus (Nannomys) neavei Thomas 1910 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 5: 90 . Type Locality: SE Zambia , E Loangwe Dist., Petauke, 2400 ft ( 732 m ; Ansell, 1978 , provided coordinates). Vernacular Names: Neave's Mouse . Distribution: E Dem. Rep. Congo , SE Zambia ( Ansell, 1978 ), S Zimbabwe , Limpopo Province of South Africa , W Mozambique , and S Tanzania ; (range derived from Meester et al., 1986:282 , and our study of material in AMNH , BMNH , and USNM ). Distributional limits undocumented; supposed records of M. neavei from Malawi represent other species ( Ansell and Dowsett, 1988 ). Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Discussion: Subgenus Nannomys . Originally described as a species, neavei was later treated as a subspecies of M. sorella ( Verheyen, 1965 a ) , an arrangement accepted by Ansell (1978) , Meester et al. (1986) , and Skinner and Smithers (1990) . F. Petter (1981 b ) , however, pointed out that while a member of the M. sorella group, neavei should be treated as a separate species; in morphology and body size it appears to be close to M. oubanguii (F. Petter, 1981 b ) . Our study (series in AMNH , BMNH , and USNM ) corroborates F. Petter's view. Mus neavei is a distinct species and easily distinguished from M. sorella by its richer tawny fur, much smaller size, more delicate cranium, and shorter molar rows (3.0-3.2 mm in seven examples of M. neavei , 3.2-3.7 mm in nine M. sorella ). How M. neavei is related to M. oubanguii and the small-bodied M. baoulei (both in the M. sorella group) is unresolved.