Rupp's Stenocephalemys

discussion

Discussion: Originally described as a species of Praomys based on material collected by Rupp (1980), who illustrated the skull as " Praomys albipes, stenocephaler Typ " (p. 92). Musser and Carleton (1993) wrote that " M. ruppi combines morphological features of both M. albipes and Stenocephalemys, an observation reinforced by morphometric analyses (Van der Straeten and Dieterlen, 1983). Were it not for the long tail of M. ruppi (a trait shared with M. albipes), the species could as easily be included within Stenocephalemys. " In their canonical analysis of ruppi, albipes, and S. griseicauda, Van der Straeten and Dieterlen (1983) derived scores for ruppi that fell between those representing the other two species, but portrayed ruppi as being overall more closely related to S. griseicauda. Fadda and Corti (2000) disagreed with that assessment, noting that in their study " ruppi shares centroid size values and shape changes that are typical of M. albipes, " indicated they have unpublished evidence suggesting divergence within " Ethiopian Myomys " (presumably albipes), and considered the relationship of the Bonke population as unresolved. We await their results but meanwhile all availa

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: Ethiopia; known only from Bonke and Bulta in the Gamo Gofa region of SW Ethiopia, 2700 - 3200 m (Rupp, 1980; Van der Straeten and Dieterlen, 1983; Yalden and Largen, 1992).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

materials_examined

Type Locality: Ethiopia, Bonke, north of Bulta, 2800 - 3200 m.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

biology_ecology

Habitat. Montane forest and scrub at elevations of 2700 - 3200 m. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. Rupp’s Ethiopian Ratis presumably nocturnal and terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Muridae