Lophuromys (Lophuromys) sikapusi (Temminck 1853)

[Lophuromys (Lophuromys)] sikapusi (Temminck 1853), Esquisses Zool. sur la Cote de Guine: 160.

Type Locality: Ghana, Dabacrom.

Vernacular Names: Rusty-bellied Brush-furred Rat.

Synonyms: Lophuromys (Lophuromys) afer (Peters 1866) .

Distribution: From Sierra Leone through Ghana and S Nigeria to Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Central African Republic; eastern limits unresolved (see W. Verheyen et al., 1997, 2000, for range east of Ghana).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Lophuromys, L. sikapusi species complex. Phylogenetically most closely allied with L. angolensis and L. ansorgei (see those accounts). Inclusion of afer in L. sikapusi documented by W. Verheyen et al. (1997). West African samples reviewed by Rosevear (1969). Chromosomal information summarized by Gautun et al. (1986). Grubb et al. (1998) reviewed Ghana and Sierra Leone populations. Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics was employed to investigate growth patterns and differences in size and shape of the skull in samples of L. sikapusi from Côte d’Ivoire, L. aquilus (discussed under flavopunctatus) from Rwanda, and L. woosnami (Corti et al., 2000) .