Acomys (Acomys) wilsoni Thomas 1892

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 : 1200

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.7316535
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2A63BB40-FE2D-45D7-52CE-9EEBC8C9ECC2
treatment provided by	Guido
scientific name	Acomys (Acomys) wilsoni Thomas 1892
status

Treatment

Acomys (Acomys) wilsoni Thomas 1892 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 10: 22.

Type Locality: Kenya, Mombasa.

Vernacular Names: Wilson's Spiny mouse.

Synonyms: Acomys (Acomys) ablutus Dollman 1911 ; Acomys (Acomys) argillaceus Hinton and Kershaw 1920 ; Acomys (Acomys) boronei De Beaux 1934 ; Acomys (Acomys) enid St. Leger 1932 ; Acomys (Acomys) nubilus Dollman 1914 .

Distribution: S Sudan, S Ethiopia, S Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, and south to EC Tanzania (Kondoa; specimens in AMNH); see Bates (1994); limits unknown.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Acomys . Formerly included in A. subspinosus by Setzer (1975) but considered a species by most systematists ( Corbet and Hill, 1991; Ellerman, 1941; Hollister, 1919; Matthey, 1968; Musser and Carleton, 1993; F. Petter, 1983; F. Petter and Roche, 1981; Rupp, 1980; Yalden et al., 1976). Genetically most similar to A. percivali ( Janecek et al., 1991) with which it occurs sympatrically ( Neal, 1983, for example, studied the breeding patterns in both species from the same locality in C Kenya); Denys et al. (1994) noted a close similarity in molar patterns between the two species. Specimens of nubilus are larger and longer-tailed than wilsoni and may represent a separate species; de Beaux's (1934) description of boronei recalls nubilus . Those two names possibly represent the closely related A. percivali , which has a longer tail relative to head and body length than does A. wilsoni . The need to revise the A. wilsoni-A. percivali species complex was stressed by Denys et al. (1994). Matthey (1968) documented chromosomal traits (2n = 50). Our study of specimens indicates A. wilsoni (and A. percivali ) to be very different from species in the A. cahirinus-A. dimidiatus group, and all other species of Acomys , a conclusion reinforced by phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA cytochrome b gene sequences among species of Acomys ( Barome et al., 2000) .