Otomys angoniensis Wroughton 1906

Otomys angoniensis Wroughton 1906, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 18: 274.

Type Locality: Malawi, Misuku Range, Matipa Forest, 7000 ft (as amended by Ansell and Dowsett, 1991).

Vernacular Names: Angoni Vlei Rat.

Synonyms: Otomys canescens Osgood 1910; Otomys divinorum Thomas 1910; Otomys elassodon Osgood 1910; Otomys mashona Thomas 1918; Otomys nyikae Wroughton 1906; Otomys pretoriae Roberts 1929; Otomys rowleyi Thomas 1918; Otomys sabiensis Roberts 1929; Otomys tugelensis Roberts 1929 .

Distribution: SE savannah and grasslands, from S Kenya to SE Botswana and NE South Africa (provinces of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Free State, North West; also Lesotho).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Populations confused under O. irroratus by Bohmann (1952) and Ellerman et al. (1953), but morphological, karyotypic, and allozymic differences decidedly support their separate specific status (Davis, 1962; De Graaff, 1981; Matthey, 1964; Misonne, 1974; Taylor et al., 1989). G-banding comparisons with the highly variable chromosomes of O. irroratus conducted by Contrafatto et al. (1992 a). Synonymy of the listed species-group epithets and distributional limits need verification in the context of a full revision, including the form maximus (see account below), which many have viewed as another subspecies of O. angoniensis (e.g., De Graaff, 1981; Meester et al., 1986; Misonne, 1974). Reported presence in NE Cape Province (=Eastern Cape Province) and Lesotho (e.g., Meester et al., 1986; Skinner and Smithers, 1990) questioned by Lynch (1994). See Bronner and Meester (1988, Mammalian Species, 306).