Myotomys Thomas 1918

Myotomys Thomas 1918, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 2: 206.

Type Species: Otomys unisulcatus F. Cuvier 1829

Synonyms: Metotomys Broom 1937 .

Species and subspecies: 2 species:

Species Myotomys sloggetti (Thomas 1902)

Species Myotomys unisulcatus (F. Cuvier 1829)

Discussion: Described by Thomas (1918 b) as a genus, a rank occasionally observed (Pocock, 1976; Roberts, 1951) but not conventionally so (e.g., Bohmann, 1952; Ellerman et al., 1953; Misonne, 1974; Meester et al., 1986). In merging Myotomys as junior synonym of Otomys, Ellerman (1941) considered its component species to be morphologically linked with those of that genus. However, cladistic assessments of allozymic data disclose closer affinity of sloggetti and unisulcatus to species of Parotomys (Meester et al., 1992; Taylor et al., 1989), as do the morphological traits enumerated above and those mentioned by Pocock (1976). Phylogenetic investigations should focus on whether sloggetti and unisulcatus are separate branches in a lineage that also includes brantsii and littledalei (all as Parotomys) or whether they are early diverging sister species ( Myotomys) relative to brantsii littledalei ( Parotomys) and species of Otomys .