Lemniscomys Trouessart 1881

Lemniscomys Trouessart 1881, Bull. Soc. Etudes Sci. Angers, 10: 124.

Type Species: Mus barbarus Linnaeus 1766

Species and subspecies: 11 species:

Species Lemniscomys barbarus (Linnaeus 1766)

Species Lemniscomys bellieri Van der Straeten 1975

Species Lemniscomys griselda Thomas 1904

Species Lemniscomys hoogstraali Dieterlen 1991

Species Lemniscomys linulus Thomas 1910

Species Lemniscomys macculus Thomas and Wroughton 1910

Species Lemniscomys mittendorfi Eisentraut 1968

Species Lemniscomys rosalia Thomas 1904

Species Lemniscomys roseveari Van der Straeten 1980

Species Lemniscomys striatus (Linnaeus 1758)

Species Lemniscomys zebra (Heuglin 1864)

Discussion: Arvicanthis Division. Morphological data clusters Lemniscomys with species of Arvicanthis, Pelomys, Mylomys, and Rhabdomys (Musser, 1987 a), which is corroborated by analysis of mitochondrial gene sequences (DNA cytochrome b, 12S and 16S rRNA gene fragments), and also includes Desmomys (Ducroz et al., 2001) . The sequence data of Ducroz et al. also indicates that within this arvicanthine cluster, Lemniscomys is the only member of a lineage separate from that comprising Desmomys and Rhabdomys, and from another containing Arvicanthis, Mylomys, and Pelomys . Analysis of microcomplement fixation of albumin associates Lemniscomys with Pelomys, Rhabdomys, Grammomys, and Thallomys (Watts and Baverstock, 1995 a) . Chromosomal data has been summarized for several species (Fadda et al., 2001 b; Filippucci et al., 1986; Gautun et al., 1985). Spermatozoal morphology documented for L. striatus and L. zebra (Breed, 1995 a; reported as barbarus) and L. macculus (Baskevich and Lavrenchenko, 1995) . Evolutionary history of Lemniscomys can be traced back to late Pliocene of East Africa and the genus is represented in several Pleistocene and Holocene sites in East and South Africa (Avery, 2000; Denys, 1999).