Mus (Nannomys) bufo Thomas 1906

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1390

Mus (Nannomys) bufo Thomas 1906

Mus (Nannomys) bufo Thomas 1906 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 18: 145.

Type Locality: Uganda, Ruwenzori East, 6000 ft (1830 m).

Vernacular Names: Toad Mouse.

Synonyms: Mus (Nannomys) ablutus G. M. Allen and Loveridge 1939 ; Mus (Nannomys) wambutti (Lönnberg and Gyldenstolpe 1925) .

Distribution: E Dem. Rep. Congo (Kivu region), adjacent Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; a montane Western Rift endemic.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Nannomys . In body size and morphology, M. bufo superficially resembles the large-bodied M. triton , but they are distinguished by dental traits and tail length (F. Petter and Matthey, 1975) as well as karyotypes ( Robbins and Baker, 1978), and occur together in the Kivu region of E Dem. Rep. Congo (specimens in AMNH). Electrophoretic analysis of 19 protein enzymes at 24 loci indicated M. bufo to be more closely related to M. gratus (= M. minutoides ) than to M. triton ( Van Rompaey et al., 1984) . Chromosomal data for Burundi samples reported by Maddalena et al. (1989). Altitudinal distribution on Ugandan slopes of Ruwenzori Mtns reviewed by Kerbis Peterhans et al. (1998); documented from Kalinzu Forest in SW Uganda by Lunde and Sarmiento (2002), and from Kibale Forest by Hoffmann (1997).