Brants's African Climbing Mouse

discussion

Discussion: Reviewed by de Graaff (1997 cc). The indecisive shifting of pumilio between D. mesomelas and D. mystacalis is reviewed Meester et al. (1986), who documented its proper association with the former. Some names once included in D. mesomelas (see Misonne, 1974) are here treated as distinct species (see D. insignis, D. nyasae, D. oreas, and D. vernayi). Judged by specimens, D. mesomelas from the Southern African Subregion is morphologically separable from northern populations in East Africa, Angola, and Cameroon. It is a larger version of, and likely closely related to, D. mystacalis. Dendromus mesomelas inhabits grasslands in swamps and other wet habitats; whereas, D. mystacalis and D. melanotis, which occur in the same regions, occupy dryer environments (Smithers, 1971; Smithers and Lobao Tello, 1976).

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

distribution

Distribution: Discontinuous range in Southern African Subregion — in South Africa across Western and Eastern Cape Provs., north through KwaZulu-Natal (Taylor, 1998), to Mpumalanga and Limpopo; Okavango swamps in N Botswana and Caprivi region of NE Namibia (Smithers, 1971); NW Zambia (Ansell, 1978, as D. m. major); and Gorongoza Mtn in C Mozambique (Smithers and Lobao Tello, 1976); may eventually be found in wet habitats of SE Angola and SW Zambia. Not recorded north of the Zambeze River in Mozambique or north of about 12 º latitude elsewhere.

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

materials_examined

Type Locality: South Africa, Eastern Cape Prov., Sunday’s River, east of Port Elizabeth.

Order Rodentia - Family Nesomyidae

discussion

COMMENTS: We treat some of the names usually included in D. mesomelas (see Misonne, 1974) as distinct species (see accounts of insignis, kivu, oreas, and vernayi). Judged by our study of specimens, samples from SE Zaire and SW Tanzania are morphologically similar to series of D. kivu, and the relationship among these and samples of true mesomelas has to be resolved by critical systematic revision. We include major, which was described as a subspecis of D. mesomelas (see St. Leger, 1930), but its relationships should be reexamined because of its large body size.

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae