Otomys helleri Frick, 1914

Taylor, Peter J., Lavrenchenko, Leonid A., Carleton, Michael D., Verheyen, Erik, Bennett, Nigel C., Oosthuizen, Carel J. & Maree, Sarita, 2011, Specific limits and emerging diversity patterns in East African populations of laminate-toothed rats, genus Otomys (Muridae: Murinae: Otomyini): Revision of the Otomys typus complex 3024, Zootaxa 3024 (1), pp. 1-66 : 45

Otomys helleri Frick, 1914 , new rank

Otomys jacksoni helleri ; Frick, 1914:10 (type locality— Abyssinia [ Ethiopia], Chilalo Divide Camp, 9000 ft [2743 m]; holotype —CM 3519); Allen, 1939:345 (listed as valid subspecies); Ellerman, 1941:322 (listed as valid subspecies).

Otomys typus helleri ; Bohmann, 1952:44 (taxonomic revision, new name combination, retained as valid subspecies).

Otomys typus [ helleri ]; Misonne, 1974:33 (listed in synonymy without indication of rank); Yalden et al., 1976:56 (faunal work, listed in synonymy without indication of rank); Musser & Carleton, 1993:682 , 2005:1530 (listed in synonymy without indication of rank).

Otomys jacksoni malkensis ; Frick, 1914:11 (type locality— Abyssinia [ Ethiopia], Sidamo, Malka; holotype —CM 3433); Allen, 1939:345 (listed as valid subspecies); Ellerman, 1941:322 (listed as valid subspecies).

Otomys typus malkensis; Bohmann, 1952:43 (taxonomic revision, new name combination, retained as valid subspecies).

Otomys typus [malkensis]; Misonne, 1974:33 (listed in synonymy without indication of rank); Yalden et al., 1976:56 (faunal work, listed in synonymy without indication of rank); Musser & Carleton, 1993:682 , 2005:1530 (listed in synonymy without indication of rank).

Distribution. Alpine habitats in Bale Mountains and Arussi Plateau, possibly extending southwards to include localities such as Malka (see OTU 3 in Fig. 1a ).

Specimens examined. ETHIOPIA: Arussi Plateau, Mount Albasso (BMNH 29.11.7.82, 29.11.7.83; FMNH 28125, 28126, 28129, 28132–28139, 28159–28164; USNM 259506); Bale Mountains (BMNH 72.1229, 72.1300, 72.1302, 72.1304, 72.1307, 72.1308; LM 1986-212-6; SM 23340; ZMMU 162595–162601); Bale Mountains, Dinsho (MNHN 1972.218–1972.228; MCZ 57319); Chilalo (SM 35868, 35876, 35877, 35879, 35883, 35887).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map of east African montane and alpine zones showing distribution of type localities (large, open labeled squares) of forms previously attributed to (a) Otomys typus s. l. and (b) O. tropicalis s. l. Closed squares represent Museum cranial material examined. Circles enclosed localities assigned to OTU's for this study (in Ethiopia these represent hypothesized taxa based on cytogenetic, molecular and morphological data); numbers indicate OTU numbers in Table 1. Arrows indicate localities from which cytochrome-b sequences were available for this study. The asterisk indicates material from a specimen of uncertain identity assigned to cf. sungae.