Acomys (Acomys) cineraceus Heuglin 1877

Acomys (Acomys) cineraceus Heuglin 1877, Reise in Nordost-Afrika, Vol. 2: 70.

Type Locality: EC Sudan, "Eastern Sennaar and about Kalabat" (G. M. Allen, 1939).

Vernacular Names: Gray Spiny Mouse.

Synonyms: Acomys (Acomys) cinerascens Heuglin 1877; Acomys (Acomys) hawashensis Frick 1914; Acomys (Acomys) hystrella Heller 1911; Acomys (Acomys) intermedius Wettstein 1916; Acomys (Acomys) johannis Thomas 1912; Acomys (Acomys) lowei Setzer 1956; Acomys (Acomys) witherbyi De Winton 1901 .

Distribution: C and S Sudan, N Uganda, C and S Ethiopia (specimens in USNM), and Djibouti (Pearch et al., 2001); distributional limits unresolved.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Acomys . Formerly included in A. cahirinus (F. Petter, 1983; Setzer, 1975), but Dieterlen (in litt.) noted that A. cineraceus is a distinct species and one of four ( A. wilsoni, A. percivali, and A. cahirinus) occurring in Sudan. Separation of cineraceus from A. cahirinus is supported by chromosomal data (2n = 48 or 50 for cineraceus, 2n = 36 for cahirinus; Kunze et al., 1999 b) and analysis of pericentric satellite DNA (Kunze et al., 1999 a). F. Petter (1983) recognized witherbyi as a species, and reported that it coexists with a member of the cahirinus-dimidiatus complex in Sudan. Both F. Petter (1983) and Denys et al. (1994) did not associate lowei (W Sudan) with A. cineraceus, but with A. mullah (see that account). In morphology, A. cineraceus closely resembles A. kempi (our study of specimens), which ranges from S Ethiopia and Somalia to NW Tanzania; systematic revision would reveal whether each is a species, or simply represents a population of one species. Limits of A. cineraceus ’s geographic range is unresolved, especially its W segment. Musser and Carleton (1993) extended the distribution west to Burkina Faso and Ghana, but at least two species occupy that wide range west of Sudan, Acomys airensis (2n = 40 to 46) and A. johannis (2n = 66 or 68); see those accounts. From their study of external and dental morphology of holotypes included in A. cineraceus, Denys et al. (1994:225) noted their "very superficial comparison shows that probably different species have been grouped together, and that there is a need for a revision of this group." We agree. For synonyms see Dieterlen (in litt.).