Hylomyscus aeta (Thomas 1911)

[Epimys] aeta Thomas 1911, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 7: 591.

Type Locality: Cameroon, Bitye, Ja River.

Vernacular Names: Beaded Hylomyscus.

Synonyms: Hylomyscus laticeps Osgood 1936; Hylomyscus shoutedeni (Dollman 1914); Hylomyscus weileri (Lönnberg and Gyldenstolpe 1925) .

Distribution: Central forest block from Equatorial Guinea (including Bioko) to Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, W Uganda, and NW Burundi; limits unknown (distribution based primarily on specimens examined in various institutions).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Hylomyscus aeta is easily distinguished from all other species of Hylomyscus by its distinct supraorbital shelves. Hatt (1940 a) tentatively included aeta, shoutedeni, and weiler in H. carillus, but our study of samples and holotypes does not support his arrangement. Variation in body size exists among geographic samples but its significance has not been assessed by careful study. Swynnerton and Hayman’s (1951:316) report of H. aeta in the Uluguru Mtns, EC Tanzania, is apparently based on Allen and Loveridge’s (1933) listing of H. weileri, now considered a synonym of H. aeta; these specimens (series in MCZ) are all examples of the H. denniae complex. Chromosomal data reported by Robbins et al. (1980). Eisentraut (1969 b) described grandis from Mt Oku as a subspecies of H. aeta but Hutterer et al. (1992 a) treated it as a separate species (see that account). Discussed by Eisentraut (1973) in the context of faunal evolution in West Africa. Taken on the ground and on vines and branches above ground in the Kalinzu Forest of SW Uganda (Lunde and Sarmiento, 2002).