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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER MYOMORPHA
--> SUPERFAMILY Muroidea
--> FAMILY Muridae
--> SUBFAMILY Murinae
--> GENUS Mus
--> SUBGENUS Nannomys
SPECIES Mus (Nannomys) sorella
| Author: | Thomas, 1909. | | Citation: | Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 4: 548. | | Common Name: | Thomas’s Mouse | | Type Locality: | W Kenya, Mt Elgon, Kirui, 6000 ft (1830 m). | | Distribution: | Documented by specimens from E Cameroon, EC Angola, NE and SE Dem. Rep. Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and N Tanzania (F. Petter, 1981b; Verheyen, 1965a; specimens examined in AMNH, BMNH, CM, and USNM); range limits unresolved. | | Status: | IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). | | Comments: | Subgenus Nannomys. Closest relatives are M. baoulei, M. goundae, M. neavei, and M. oubanguii; F. Petter (1981b) placed these (except M. baoulei) together in the M. sorella group. He also recognized wamae and acholi as species in the sorella complex, but after examining holotypes and other specimens we agree with Verheyen (1965a), who united them with M. sorella. There are at least two morphologically distinct species in the group, M. sorella and M. neavei (see that account), but the nature of their phylogenetic relationship to other forms in this complex needs to be assessed by critical systematic review. Reidentification of museum specimens might also help resolve boundaries of geographic ranges. The specimens from Angola, for example, were originally identified by Hill and Carter (1941) as M. bella. The southern African range mapped by de Graaff (1997m) reflects M. neavi and not M. sorella. |
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| Offspring: | Synonyms:
acholi Heller, 1911
wamae Heller, 1911
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