Ethiopian Arvicanthis

discussion

Discussion: An Ethiopian endemic with 2 n = 62, FN = 68 (Corti et al., 1996; Orlov and Bulatova, 1997; Orlov et al., 1992 a). Historically the species was perceived to embrace forms occurring from Ethiopia south to Zambia (G. M. Allen, 1939; Dollman, 1911; Ellerman, 1941), but Osgood (1936: 252) discussed several of A. abyssinicus ' s diagnostic features, noting that it " is not unlikely that it is confined to Ethiopia and at least some of the forms of Kenya and Uganda which have been associated with it will need other allocation. " This view has been reinforced by analyses of morphometric (Bekele et al., 1993; Corti and Fadda, 1996; Fadda and Corti, 2001; Rousseau, 1983), chromosomal (Baskevich and Lavrenchenko, 2000; Corti et al., 1996 b; Orlov et al., 1991 a), and mtDNA cytochrome b sequences (Ducroz et al., 1998), as well as our examination of specimens. Yalden and Largen (1992) speculated that A. abyssinicus may also occur in Kenya, Uganda, and elsewhere but no specimens or any other kind of data suggests its distribution extends beyond the Ethiopian Plateau. Arvicanthis abyssinicus and A. blicki are the only species of Arvicanthis endemic to the Ethiopian Plateau; both are pa

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: Ethiopian Plateau between 1300 - 3400 m (Yalden et al., 1976).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

materials_examined

Type Locality: Ethiopia, Simien Province, Simien Mtns, Entschetqab (see Osgood, 1936: 252).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

discussion

COMMENTS: An Ethiopian endemic and morphologically distinctive species whose closest relative is A. blicki, another Ethiopian endemic. Historically the species was perceived to embrace forms occurring from Ethiopia south to Zambia (Allen, 1939; Dollman, 1911; Ellerman, 1941), but Osgood (1936: 252) discussed several of abyssinicus's diagnostic features, noting that it " is not unlikely that it is confined to Ethiopia and at least some of the forms of Kenya and Uganda which have been associated with it will need other allocation. " This view has been reinforced by morphometric analyses (Rousseau, 1983), and our examination of specimens. Arvicanthis abyssinicus and A. blicki are the only species of Arvicanthis endemic to Ethiopia, both are part of middle and high altitude grassland and moorland endemic mammal faunas of Ethiopia (Demeter and Topal, 1982; Rupp, 1980; Yalden, 1988), and both are more closely related to each other than to any other species of the genus. Arvicanthis niloticus and A. somalicus also occur in Ethiopia (see those accounts), but their ranges also extend far beyond that country's boundaries. Rousseau (1983) regarded mearnsi, described as a subspecies of A. abys

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae