Simon's Dipodil

discussion

Discussion: Subgenus Dipodillus. A distinctive species (Lay, 1983; Pavlinov et al., 1990) revised by Cockrum et al. (1976 a) and reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990). Regional reviews are available for Egypt (Osborn and Helmy, 1980), Libya (Ranck, 1968), and Algeria (Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska, 1991). Although samples from coastal Egypt (kaiseri) have, on average, slightly longer tails, darker pelage, and smaller auditory bulla than do those from the western portion of the range (simoni), the variation is clinal east to west, prompting Cockrum et al. (1976 a) to treat all populations as a single species. This interpretation was endorsed by Osborn and Helmy (1980) from their study of Egyptian samples and comparisons with data in the literature, and supports Wassif’s (1956, 1960) earlier conclusion that kaiseri is synonymous with D. simoni. Chromosomal data summarized by Qumsiyeh and Schlitter (1991); karyotype (2 n = 60, FN = 72) of Tunisian sample described by Chetoui et al. (2002).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

distribution

Distribution: Along the coast of Egypt (west of Nile Delta) and NE Libya, coastal and inland in NW Libya and Tunisia, and high plateau region of the Atlas in Algeria and E Morocco (see Cockrum et al., 1976).

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae

discussion

COMMENT: Includes kaiseri; see Petter, 1975, Part 6.3: 2, Cockrum et al., 1976, Mammalia, 40: 313 - 326, and Osborn and Helmy, 1980, Fieldiana Zool., n. s., 5: 161. Also see Corbet, 1978: 123, who listed kaiseri as a distinct species; simoni and kaiseri have disjunct distributions. May include zakariai; see Cockrum et al., 1976, Mammalia, 40: 313 - 326 (DML).

Order Rodentia (Part 3)

distribution

DISTRIBUTION: N. E. Algeria; Tunisia; coastal plains of Egypt and Libya; perhaps Morocco.

Order Rodentia (Part 3)