Deomys ferrugineus Thomas 1888

Deomys ferrugineus Thomas 1888, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1888: 130.

Type Locality: Lower Congo.

Vernacular Names: Congo Forest Rat.

Synonyms: Deomys christyi Thomas 1915; Deomys poensis Eisentraut 1965; Deomys vandenberghei Rahm and W. Verheyen 1960 .

Distribution: Uganda, Rwanda, Dem. Rep. Congo, SW Central African Republic, S Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea (including Bioko).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Hatt (1940), Rosevear (1969), and Eisentraut (1973) provided informative descriptions and reviews. Lemire (1966) reported myological and skeletal interaction in mastication. Eisentraut (1973) provided color plate contrasting the reddish brown upperparts of mainland samples with the dark brown dorsum of poensis from Bioko. Rosevear (1969) described the range in variation in coloration of dorsal pelage (intense reddish brown to reddish brown with a blackish rump to dark brown or blackish over most of back and rump; Eisentraut’s plate illustrated this variation) and the meaningless attempts to attach the names listed in synonymy to parts of that range. Kerbis Peterhans and Patterson (1995:329) included D. ferrugineus in their African guild of "waders" along with species of Malacomys and Colomys goslingi: "Without swimming and while perched on elongate hind feet, all three consume insects and other small animals in shallow forest streams and pools.".