Acomys (Acomys) percivali Dollman 1911

Acomys (Acomys) percivali Dollman 1911, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 8: 126.

Type Locality: Kenya, Chanler Falls, Nyiro.

Vernacular Names: Percival's Spiny Mouse.

Distribution: S Sudan (east of White Nile), E Uganda, SW Ethiopia, and Kenya; see Bates (1994).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Acomys . Treated as a synonym of kempi, which in turn was included within A. cahirinus by Setzer (1975). However, Hollister (1919) recognized percivali as a species based upon many specimens he examined, as did Ellerman (1941) and F. Petter (1983). Hubert (1978 b) identified specimens from Ethiopia as A. percivali, and Neal (1983) used percivali as a species in comparing breeding patterns between it and A. wilsoni in C Kenya. Janecek et al. (1991) regarded percivali as the species genetically most closely related to A. wilsoni, and Denys et al. (1994) noted the nearly identical molar morphology in the two species. Matthey (1968) recorded a karyotype (2n = 36, FN = 68) for what he identified as A. percivali from Ethiopia, but Sokolov et al. (1992, 1993) regarded Matthey’s results as applying to A. cahirinus . See account of A. wilsoni .