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
Mus sorella
(Thomas, 1909)
.
Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 4:548
.
TYPE LOCALITY:
W
Kenya
, Mt Elgon, Kirui,
6000 ft
.
DISTRIBUTION: Documented by specimens from E
Cameroon
, EC
Angola
, NE and SE
Zaire
,
Uganda
,
Kenya
, and N
Tanzania
(
Petter, 1981 b
;
Verheyen, 1965a
; specimens in the American Museum of Natural History, and the National Museum of Natural Hitory); limits unknown
SYNONYMS:
acholi, wamae.
COMMENTS: Subgenus
Nannomys
.
Closest relatives are
M. baoulei
,
M. goundae
,
M. kasaicus
,
M. neavei
,
and
M. oubanguii
;
Petter (1981 b)
placed these (except
baoulei
)
together in the
M. sorella
group.
Petter (1981 b)
also recognized
wamae
and
acholi
as species in the
sorella
complex, but after examining
holotypes
and other specimens we agree with
Verheyen (1965a)
, who united them with
M. sorella
.
There are at least two distinct species in the group,
M. sorella
and
M. neavei
(see later account), but the nature of their phylogenetic relationship to other forms in this complex needs to be assessed by critical systematic review. Reidentification of museum specimens might also help resolve geographic ranges. The specimens from
Angola
, for example, were originally identified by
Hill and Carter (1941)
as
M. bella
.