Myomyscus yemeni Sanborn and Hoogstraal 1953

Myomyscus yemeni Sanborn and Hoogstraal 1953, Fieldiana Zool., 34: 241.

Type Locality: Yemen, Kariet Wadi Dhahr, six miles (9.7 km) northwest of San'a, 6400 ft (1950 m).

Vernacular Names: Yemen White-footed Rat.

Distribution: Recorded only from N Yemen and SW Saudi Arabia (see Harrision and Bates, 1991:249; also references in Al-Jumaily, 1998, for Yemen population).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc) as Myomys yemeni .

Discussion: Originally described by Sanborn and Hoogstraal (1953) as a subspecies of Myomys fumatus (= brockmani), the diagnostic traits of yemeni are outside the range of variation recorded for any sample of M. brockmani . Our study of holotype and specimens of M. yemeni and M. brockmani at FMNH revealed that M. yemeni is much larger in body, cranial, and dental dimensions than M. brockmani (no overlap in length of molar rows, for example), with paler pelage and significantly larger ears and auditory bullae (both absolutely and relative to body size). The morphological attributes of M. yemeni define a distinctive species; however, its phylogenetic relationships to other species in the genus, or within the Stenocephalemys Division, have yet to be fully resolved. Analyses of mtDNA cytochrome b sequences, for example, suggests M. yemeni to be more closely related to Praomys verschureni than to any other species we retain in Myomyscus (Lecompte et al., 2002 b), but nuclear IRBP gene sequences indicates M. yemeni, along with M. brockmani, to form a sister group to Stenocephalemys and should be included in that genus (Lecompte, 2003). Chromosomal traits (2n = FNa = 36) described by Lecompte (2003). Reviewed (as fumatus) by Harrison and Bates (1991) and the Yemen population by Al-Jumaily (1998).