Muriculus Thomas, 1903 . Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1902(2):314 [1903].

TYPE SPECIES: Mus imberbis Rüppell, 1842 .

COMMENTS: When Thomas proposed Muriculus he suggested it might be related to Lophuromys, but Osgood (1936) found little affinity between the two genera and instead noted a closer morphological relationship with Mus and Zelotomys . The close tie to Mus is real, and Misonne (1974) suggested that Muriculus might be merged with Mus; however, the middorsal stripe and morphological specializations of rostrum, mandible, incisors, and increased expanse of incisor enamel associated with pronounced proodonty, are not part of the character suite defining Mus, and set Muriculus apart as a very distinctive genus.