Niviventer andersoni (Thomas 1911)

[Niviventer] andersoni (Thomas 1911), Abstr. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1911 (90): 4.

Type Locality: SW China, Sichuan, Omi San, 6000 ft (1830 m).

Vernacular Names: Anderson's Niviventer.

Synonyms: Niviventer lushuiensis Wu and Wang 2002 .

Distribution: SW China; E Xizang (Tibet), Yunnan, W Sichuan, N Ghizhou and S Shaanxi (Feng et al., 1986; Musser and Chiu, 1979; Wang, 2003).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Systematically revised and contrasted with N. excelsior and N. confucianus by Musser and Chiu (1979). Closest relative is apparently N. excelsior; the two species are set apart from other Niviventer by primitive traits they share, the two form a tight cluster reflected in multivariate analysis of morphometric traits (Musser and Lunde, ms), and both are isolated in the high mountains of S China (Musser, 1981 b). This hypothesized phyletic alliance and morphological isolation from other species of Niviventer should be tested by analyses of molecular data. Anthony (1941) recorded N. andersoni from NE Burma but that series represents an undescribed species of Niviventer not closely related to N. andersoni (Musser and Lunde, ms). In his checklist of Chinese mammals, Wang (2003:204) listed lushuiensis as simply Wu et Wang, subsp. Nov. 2002," a subspecies of N. andersoni, but the name has yet to be published with a diagnosis and identification of holotype (D. Lunde, in litt., 2004).