Genomic diversity, evolutionary history, and species limits of the endemic Ethiopian laminate-toothed rats (genus Otomys, Rodentia: Muridae) Author Mizerovská, Daniela Author Martynov, Aleksey A. A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Author Mikula, Ondřej Author Bryjová, Anna Author Meheretu, Yonas Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic & Department of Biology and Institute of Mountain Research and Development, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia & Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden Author Lavrenchenko, Leonid A. A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia & Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic & Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic bryja@ivb.cz Author Bryja, Josef text Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 2023 2023-08-25 199 4 1059 1077 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad063 journal article 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad063 0024-4082 10470258 Otomys fortior Thomas 1906 Charada Vlei Rat Otomys typus fortior : Thomas 1906:302 ( type locality— Ethiopia , Kaffa, Charada Forest, 1829 m ); Allen 1939:348 (listed as valid subspecies); Ellerman 1941:321 (listed as valid subspecies); Bohmann 1952:45 (taxonomic revision, retained as valid subspecies). Otomys fortior Dollman 1915 —Kaffa, Ethiopia . Otomys typus ( fortior ) Misonne 1974 , Yalden et al. 1976 and Musser and Carleton 1993—without indication of rank. Holotype : BMNH 6.11 .1.29. Type locality: Ethiopia , Charada Forest, Kaffa, 1829 m a.s.l.. Taxonomic notes: Otomys fortior shares a common karyotype of 2n = 58, NFa = 58 with O . typus and O . helleri , as well as higher number of eight laminae in M3. This is the most distinct species in the TYPUS group, both genomically ( Figs 3–6 ) and ecologically (the only species living in forest clearings at relatively low elevation in south-western Ethiopia ; Fig. 2 ). Morphological analysis did not show any special ecological adaptations to different environments. Distribution: The species lives in tropical forests in south-western Ethiopia , west of the Omo River, from where we provide numerous new data [compared to Taylor et al. (2011) ]. The elevational range of genetically confirmed records is 1360–2600 m a.s.l.. The specimens from the Jimma area were assigned to O . fortior based on geographic and ecological data. However, based on cranial characteristics, they are related to O . cheesmani ( Taylor et al. 2011 ) , which might be just an artefact of morphological analysis.