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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER MYOMORPHA
--> SUPERFAMILY Muroidea
--> FAMILY Nesomyidae
--> SUBFAMILY Cricetomyinae
GENUS Beamys
| Author: | Thomas, 1909. | | Citation: | Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 4: 107. | | Type Species: | Beamys hindei Thomas, 1909. | | Comments: | Cricetomyini, new rank. Two species have been generally recognized as originally described (e.g., G. M. Allen, 1939; Ellerman, 1941; Ellerman et al., 1953; Hanney, 1965; Misonne, 1974), until Hubbard (1970), without presentation of data, suggested their synonymy, a classification adopted by some (e.g., Ansell, 1978; Ansell and Ansell, 1973; Corbet and Hill, 1991; Honacki et al., 1982) but not others (Musser and Carleton, 1993). Ansell and Ansell (1973), while following Hubbard’s opinion, did present limited measurements that demonstrate the uniformly larger size of major compared with hindei. The number of species, their morphological discrimination, and vouchered distribution deserve the attention of a full generic revision. Emphasis should be given to those Beamys populations that occur in the Eastern Arc Mtns, whether more closely related to major proper from uplands in NE Zambia and Malawi or to hindei from lower dry coastal forest in SE Kenya and E Tanzania. |
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