Mus (Nannomys) mahomet Rhoads 1896

Mus (Nannomys) mahomet Rhoads 1896, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia: 532.

Type Locality: SC Ethiopia, Sheikh Mahomet.

Vernacular Names: Mahomet Mouse.

Synonyms: Mus (Nannomys) emesi Heller 1911 .

Distribution: Ethiopian highlands, 1500-3400 m (Lavrenchenko, 2000; Rupp, 1980; Yalden et al., 1976, 1996; specimens in FMNH), SW Uganda and SW Kenya (specimens in USNM); limits unknown.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Nannomys . Heller (1911) described emesi as a subspecies of M. musculoides, but Hollister (1919:96) and Hatt (1940 a) treated it as a distinct species. Musser’s study of Hatt's specimens from NE Dem. Rep. Congo (in AMNH) revealed they consisted of M. minutoides and M. sorella . The holotype of emesi and most of Hollister's other examples from Uganda do represent a species distinct from M. minutoides; in morphology and chromatic traits, we cannot distinguish the series of emesi from the large samples of mahomet collected by Osgood in Ethiopia. Mus mahomet is sympatric with M. minutoides in Uganda and Kenya and narrowly sympatric or closely parapatric with M. setulosus in Ethiopia (Yalden et al., 1976; specimens in FMNH). Yalden and Largen (1992) reviewed the species as an Ethiopian endemic. Karyotype (2n = FN = 36) documented by Orlov and Bulatova (1997), spermatozoal morphology described by Baskevich and Lavrenchenko (1995). Yalden et al. (1976:30) suspected that kerensis, currently included in synonymy of Mastomys natalensis, might be the correct name for M. mahomet .