Acacia Thallomys

discussion

Discussion: In body size, the smallest of all the species. Identification of paedulcus as a separate species compared with the larger T. damarensis and association of scotti, were correctly perceived and documented by F. Petter (1973 a). Thomas and Wroughton's (1908) ruddi, described as a species of Thamnomys, is a Thallomys (Lawrence and Loveridge, 1953) and another example of T. paedulcus. Identification of the holotype of paedulcus, along with critical measurements, recorded by Ellerman et al. (1953) and verified by F. Petter (1973 a). The names acaciae, lebomboensis, and stevensoni were listed by Roberts (1951) as subspecies of T. moggi; rhodesiae was described by Osgood (1910) as a subspecies of Mus damarensis (which is here synonymized in T. nigricauda); and zambesiana was proposed by Lundholm (1955 a) as a subspecies of T. nigricauda. Roche (1964) described somaliensis as a subspecies of T. paedulcus. Morphometric contrasts between T. paedulcus and T. nigricauda provided by Taylor et al. (1995), who also identified a skull from Kenya as T. paedulcus (a different skull than the one from Kenya identified by Taylor et al., 1995, as T. nigricauda; see that account). Because Tayl

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: From NE South Africa (N KwaZulu-Natal, W Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, and North West), Swaziland, and Botswana north through Zimbabwe, S Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya to S Ethiopia and S Somalia; limits unknown. See Taylor et al. (1995) for distribution in Southern African Subregion.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

materials_examined

Type Locality: South Africa, " In Caffraria interiore, prope tropicum, " (Ellerman et al., 1953); " type locality was in the Magaliesberg area and has been provisionally fixed as Crocodile Drift, Brits, Transvaal [= Gauteng] " (D. H. S. Davis, 1965: 127).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

discussion

COMMENTS: In body size, the smallest of all the species. Identification of paedulcus as a separate species compared with the larger T. damarensis, and association of scotti with it, was correctly perceived and documented by Petter (1973 a). Thomas and Wroughton's (1908) ruddi, which was described as a species of Thamnomys, is a Thallomys (Lawrence and Loveridge, 1953) and another example of T. paedulcus. Identification of the holotype of paedulcus, along with critical measurements, was recorded by Ellerman et al. (1953), and verified by Petter (1973 a). The names acaciae, lebomboensis, and stevensoni were listed by Roberts (1951) as subspecies of T. moggi; rhodesiae was described by Osgood (1910) as a subspecies of Mus damarensis (which is here synonymized in T. nigricauda); and zambeziana was proposed by Lundholm (1955 b) as a subspecies of T. nigricauda. Roche (1964) described somaliensis as a subspecies of T. paedulcus.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae