Thamnomys major Hatt 1934

Thamnomys major Hatt 1934, Am. Mus . Novit., 708: 10.

Type Locality: E Dem. Rep. Congo, Nord-Kivu Province, Lukumi, N slope Mt Karisimbi, Kivu volcanos, 12,000 ft (3658 m).

Vernacular Names: Hatt's Thamnomys.

Distribution: Known only from the type locality.

Discussion: Still represented only by the holotype (AMNH 82693). Originally described as a subspecies of Thamnomys kempi, but the holotype is significantly larger than any specimen of T. kempi we have examined, has saturated buffy underparts suffused with underlying gray (whitish gray or with buff tinge in T. kempi), and conspicuously longer molar rows (7.5 mm for major, 6.1-6.8 for 31 T. kempi examined). Gyldenstolpe (1928) described a specimen collected at 3900 m on Mt Karisimbi and mentioned that it was larger than the holotype of T. kempi, which suggested to Hatt (1934) that it might be another example of major . Dimensions of Gyldenstolpe’s specimen, however, fall within the range of variation characteristic of T. kempi . Hatt (1934:10) designated AMNH 82695 and 82689 "from Kabara, a site at 3354 m on the saddle between Mtns. Mikeno and Karisimbi" as paratypes of major, but their cranial and dental dimensions along with venter coloration are also typical of T. kempi .