Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
Author
Guy G. Musser
Author
Michael D. Carleton
text
1993
Smithsonian Institution Press
Washington and London
Editor
Don E. Wilson
Editor
DeeAnn M. Reeder
Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition)
501
755
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7353098
1-56098-217-9
7353098
Leptomys
Thomas, 1897
.
Ann. Mus.
Civ
. Stor. Nat. Genova, 18:610
.
TYPE SPECIES:
Leptomys elegans
Thomas, 1897
.
COMMENTS: Member of the New
Guinea
Old Endemics (
Musser, 1981c
). Most lists and faunal studies published since 1951 recognized only one species in
Leptomys
(
Flannery, 1990b
;
Laurie and Hill, 1954
;
Menzies and Dennis, 1979
;
Tate, 1951
), but
Rummler's (1938)
revision in which he identified two species
(
elegans
and
ernstmayri
),
and Tate and Archbold's (1938) description of a third
(
signatus
)
accurately reflects the known diversity. A derived cephalic arterial pattern, along with other morphological features, is shared by
Leptomys, Mayrmys
,
Neohydromys
,
Pseudohydromys
,
and
Lorentzimys
(
Musser and Heaney, 1992
). Certain phallic traits (
Lidicker and Brylski, 1987
), also united
Leptomys
and
Lorentzimys.
Chromosomal data were provided by
Donnellan (1987)
, but whether the sampled species was
L. elegans
or
L. ernstmayri
is unclear.