HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER MYOMORPHA
--> SUPERFAMILY Muroidea
--> FAMILY Spalacidae
--> SUBFAMILY Tachyoryctinae
--> GENUS Tachyoryctes
SPECIES Tachyoryctes spalacinus
Author: | Thomas, 1909. | Citation: | Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 4: 547. | Common Name: | Embi African Mole Rat | Type Locality: | Kenya, Embi (=Embu), plains near base of Mt Kenya, 5400 ft (1646 m). | Distribution: | Kenya, plains and lower slopes of Mt Kenya (Hollister, 1919). | Status: | IUCN – Lower Risk (nt). | Comments: | Body size about like T. ruddi, according to Thomas (1909b), but "Readily recognizable by its sloping occipital plane." This species occurs at the base of Mt Kenya and adjacent plains but is replaced at altitudes above 2600 m by the much larger-bodied T. rex (Hollister, 1919). Morphological, distributional, and genetic relationships between T. spalacinus and T. ibeanus, which occurs to the south along the western margin of the Athi Plains, need to be evaluated. |
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