Lophuromys (Lophuromys) nudicaudus Heller 1911

Lophuromys (Lophuromys) nudicaudus Heller 1911, Smithson. Misc. Coll., 56 (17): 11.

Type Locality: Cameroon, Bula country, Efulen (see Rosevear, 1969, for information about the holotype).

Vernacular Names: Fire-bellied Brush-furred Rat.

Synonyms: Lophuromys (Lophuromys) afer (Tullberg 1893); Lophuromys (Lophuromys) naso Thomas 1911; Lophuromys (Lophuromys) parvulus Eisentraut 1965; Lophuromys (Lophuromys) tullbergi Matschie 1911 .

Distribution: Lowland tropical evergreen rainforest, usually below 700 m, from S Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea (including Bioko), Gabon, Republic of Congo, SW Central African Republic, and N Dem. Rep. Congo (Orientale), between the Ubangui River in the west and the Aruwimi River in the east; Basoko, 01E13' N, 23E35' E, near the confluence of the Aruwimi River with the Congo, is the easternmost record. Despite intensive survey, L. nudicaudus is not found on the right side of the Congo River between mouth of the Aruwimi River and Kisangani to the southeast); elsewhere it occurs only on right side of Congo River. Distribution concordant with the West-Central and Cameroon zoogeographic faunal regions (W. Verheyen et al., 1996 a).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Lophuromys . Most closely related to L. huttereri from the left side of the Congo River in N Dem. Rep. Congo (W. Verheyen et al., 1996 a). Included in L. sikapusi by Misonne (1974), but is a distinct species; L. sikapusi and L. nudicaudus occur together in the same region in W Africa. Rosevear (1969) discussed traits distinguishing the two species and the taxonomic history of samples in West Africa. W. Verheyen et al. (1996 a) summarized taxonomic history of the two species (and allocations of the taxa associated with them), and morphological and morphometric analyses that distinguish them. Dieterlen (1978 b) explained why naso is a synonym. Eisentraut (1965) described parvulus as a subspecies of L. sikapusi but Rosevear (1969) included it in L. nudicaudus . W. Verheyen et al. (1996 a) endorsed the synonymy of naso with L. nudicaudus and synonymized parvulus with tullbergi; they were reluctant to include the latter in L. nudicaudus until biochemical and other data could be analyzed, despite the apparent union of tullbergi with L. nudicaudus in their multivariate analysis. Karyotype of Cameroon specimens was described by W. Verheyen and Van der Straeten (1980).