Acomys kempi Dollman, 1911 . Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 8:125.

TYPE LOCALITY: Kenya, Chanler Falls, N Guaso Nyiro .

DISTRIBUTION: S Somalia, Kenya and NE Tanzania (samples in the Field Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of Natural History); limits unknown.

SYNONYMS: montanus, pulchellus.

COMMENTS: Subgenus Acomys . Originally described by Dollman as a subspecies of A. ignitus and listed that way by Ellerman (1941) and Hollister (1919), but considered a subspecies of A. cahirinus by Setzer (1975). Treated as a species by Janecek et al. (1991) with closest evolutionary ties to A. cahirinus . The morphological characteristics and geographic range of kempi may represent the estern segment of A. cineraceus . Hollister (1919) correctly explained why pulchellus is a synonym of A. kempi; we include montanus based on our studies.