Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell 1842

Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell 1842, Mus . Senckenberg. Abh., 3 (2): 99.

Type Locality: Ethiopia, Shoa.

Vernacular Names: Naked Mole-rat.

Synonyms: Heterocephalus ansorgei Thomas 1903; Heterocephalus dunni Thomas 1909; Heterocephalus phillipsi Thomas 1885; Heterocephalus progrediens Lönnberg 1911; Heterocephalus scortecci de Beaux 1934; Heterocephalus stygius Allen 1912 .

Distribution: C Somalia, C and E Ethiopia, C and S Kenya.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc). Common.

Discussion: Allen (1939) recognized two subspecies, however, this taxon is in need of a thorough revision (Honeycutt et al., 1991). According to Honeycutt et al. (1991:58), genetic data indicate there are two geographic groups of this species in Kenya. Karyotype has 2n=60 (George, 1979 b).