HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER MYOMORPHA
--> SUPERFAMILY Muroidea
--> FAMILY Nesomyidae
--> SUBFAMILY Cricetomyinae
GENUS Cricetomys
Author: | Waterhouse, 1840. | Citation: | Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1840: 2. | Type Species: | Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840. | Comments: | Cricetomyini. Six nominal species were recognized (e.g., Allen, 1939) before Ellerman (1941) summarily reduced all to subspecies of C. gambianus. Genest-Villard’s (1967) revision provided evidence of two kinds, a predominantly savanna-dwelling species (C. gambianus) and a lowland forest form (C. emini), an arrangement broadly compatible with Hinton’s (1919b) perception of harsh-furred and sleek-furred groups. Her character states and univariate ratios for discriminating two species are generally workable in West Africa but break down in eastern and southern Africa; based on series in MCZ and USNM, four kinds of Cricetomys can be morphologically sorted. For studies of the gastrointestinal tract interpreted in the context of taxonomic comparisons, trophic niche, and digestive function see Knight and Knight-Eloff (1987) and Perrin and Curtis (1980). |
|
|
|
|