Vernay's African Climbing Mouse

discussion

Discussion: Hill and Carter (1941) described vernayi as a subspecies of D. mesomelas, an association which has not been questioned (Bohmann, 1942; Crawford-Cabral, 1986; Misonne, 1974). Re-examination of the holotype and original series (in AMNH) reveals vernayi to be distinguished from mesomelas by its much smaller body size and strikingly shorter tail, buffy gray venter (white, often with pale buff in D. mesomelas), much smaller skull, postorbital region not constricted (as narrow as interorbit in D. mesomelas), shorter and wider rostrum, and longer molar rows relative to skull length. No morphological data supports its affiliation with D. mesomelas or with the much larger D. insignis. Externally, D. vernayi resembles D. mystacalis, which also occurs at Chitau, but that species is much smaller and recalls D. mesomelas in coloration and cranial conformation. While also morphologically distinct from D. nyasae and D. oreas, D. vernayi will likely prove to be phylogenetically allied to those species than to any other Dendromus.

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

distribution

Distribution: Known only from the type locality (Hill and Carter, 1941; Crawford-Cabral, 1986, 1998), EC Angola.

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

materials_examined

Type Locality: Angola, Angolan Plateau, Chitau, 4930 ft (1502 m).

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

discussion

COMMENTS: Hill and Carter described vernayi as a subspecies of D. mesomelas, an association which has not been questioned (Bohmann, 1942; Misonne, 1974; Crawford-Cabral, 1986). Our study of the holotype and original series revealed vernayi to be distinguished from mesomelas by its smaller size, bright buffy venter, much shorter tail, and shorter and stubby rostrum. No data supports its affiliation with D. mesomelas as a subspecies and it is clearly distinct from the much larger D. insignis.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae