Hadromys yunnanensis Yang and Wang 1987

Hadromys yunnanensis Yang and Wang 1987, Acta Theriol. Sinica, 7: 46.

Type Locality: China, W Yunnan Province, Ruili County, Hulan (24E09' N, 97E51' E), 1300 m.

Vernacular Names: Yunnan Hadromys.

Distribution: Recorded only from Ruili County in W Yunnan, 970-1300 m (Yang and Wang, 1987).

Discussion: Originally described as a distinctive subspecies of H. humei, but the Yunnan animal is easily distinguished by its much larger body size (123-140 mm as opposed to 98-120 mm in H. humei), relatively shorter tail, pure white underparts (grayish white tinged with pale or rich buff in H. humei), significantly longer diastema (8.1-8.5 mm versus 6.7-7.8 mm in H. humei), and shorter palate relative to skull length. These contrasts support the hypothesis that yunnanensis represents a separate species, a conclusion also suggested by Corbet and Hill (1992) who were impressed by the differences. In his checklist of Chinese mammals, Wang (2003) treated yunnanensis as a species.