Rhabdomys pumilio
Creators: name: Musser, Guy G.
name: Carleton, Michael D.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 1993
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Muridae
Rhabdomys
Rhabdomys pumilio

description: <i>Rhabdomys pumilio</i> (Sparrman, 1784). K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl. Stockholm, p. 236. TYPE LOCALITY: S Africa, S Cape Prov., east of Knysna, Tsitsikamma Forest, Slangrivier. DISTRIBUTION: S and C Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, E Zimbabwe, WC Mozambique, Malawi (Nyika Plateau and Mulanje massif), NE Zambia (Nyika plateau), and highlands in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and SE Zaire. SYNONYMS: <i>angolae, bechuanae, bethuliensis, chakae, cinereus, cradockensis, deserti, dilectus, diminutus, donavani, fouriei, griquae, griquoides, intermedius, lineatus,</i> <i>pumilio</i> var. <i>major</i> <i>, meridionalis, moshesh, namaquensis, namibensis, nyasae, orangiae, prieskae, septemvittatus, typicus, vaalensis, vittatus.</i> COMMENTS: When Wroughton (1905b) reviewed <i>pumilio,</i> he distinguished four groups, each with different forms, and although unsure about the taxonomic status to give the forms, thought each group represented a separate species. Distribution of character variation, however, forced him to conclude that (p. 630) " in view of the absolute identity of pattern, the variability of coloration, and the difficulty of deciding the inter-relationship of the different forms, the simpler and safer way is to call them all subspecies of the original species <i>pumilio."</i> Wroughton's view prevails today. Checklists (Allen, 1939; Ellerman, 1941; Ellerman et al., 1953), faunal studies (e.g., Ansell, 1978; Ansell and Dowsett, 1988; Roberts, 1951; Skinner and Smithers, 1990; Smithers, 1971), a study of possible influences of climate on length of tail (Coetzee, 1970), and preliminary studies on geographic variation (see Meester et al., 1986:275) have yet to critically analyze patterns of chromatic and morphological variation in context of assessing whether only one or several species exist. Hill and Carter (1941: 101) recognized two species in Angola; <i>R. pumilio</i> from central and southern regions, and <i>R. bechuanae</i> form the arid southwestern portion north of Namibia. They noted the lack of intergradation between the two kinds and we have not found any evidence that such intergradation exists. The significance of this observation can only be assessed by careful sysematic review of <i>Rhabdomys.</i> Morphology of digestive system in relation to diet and evolution described by Perrin and Curtis (1980).
description: Published as part of <i>Guy G. Musser &amp; Michael D. Carleton, 1993, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, pp. 501-755 in Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London :Smithsonian Institution Press</i> on pages 662-663, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353098
description: {"references": ["Wroughton, R. C. 1905 b. Notes on the various forms of Arvicanthis pumilio, Sparrm. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, ser. 7, 16: 629 - 639.", "Allen, G. M. 1939. A checklist of African mammals. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, 83: 1 - 763.", "Ellerman, J. R. 1941. The families and genera of living rodents. Vol. II. Family Muridae. British Museum (Natural History), London, 690 pp.", "Ansell, W. F. H. 1978. The mammals of Zambia. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Chilanga, 126 pp.", "Ansell, W. F. H., and R. J. Dowsett. 1988. Mammals of Malawi: An annotated check list and atlas. Trendrine Press, Zennor, St. Ives, United Kingdom, 170 pp.", "Roberts, A. 1951. The mammals of South Africa. Trustees of \" The mammals of South Africa \" book fund, Johannesburg, 700 pp.", "Skinner, J. D., and R. H. N. Smithers. 1990. The mammals of the southern African subregion. Second ed. University of Pretoria, Republic of South Africa, 771 pp.", "Smithers, R. H. N. 1971. The mammals of Botswana. Museum Memoir, National Museums of Rhodesia, Salisbury, 4: 1 - 340.", "Coetzee, C. G. 1970. The relative tail-length of striped mice Rhabdomys pumilio Sparrman 1784 in relation to climate. Zoologica Africana, 5: 1 - 6.", "Meester, J. A. J., I. L. Rautenbach, N. J. Dippenaar, and C. M. Baker. 1986. Classification of southern African mammals. Transvaal Museum Monograph, 5: 1 - 359.", "Hill, J. E., and T. D. Carter. 1941. The mammals of Angola, Africa. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 78 (1): 1 - 211.", "Perrin, M. R., and B. A. Curtis. 1980. Comparative morphology of the digestive system of 19 species of southern African myomorph rodents in relation to diet and evolution. South African Journal of Zoology, 15: 22 - 33."]}