Mus Linnaeus, 1758

Denys, Christiane, Missoup, Alain Didier, Nicolas, Violaine, Sylla, Morlaye, Douno, Mory, Kadjo, Blaise, Lalis, Aude & Monadjem, Ara, 2025, Annotated checklist of rodents from a biodiversity hotspot, Mount Nimba (West Africa), Zoosystema 47 (27), pp. 617-689 : 647

Genus Mus Linnaeus, 1758

( Tables 7 ; 8 )

REMARKS

Several authors pointed to the important diversity of Mus spp. in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire ( Rosevear 1969; Kan Kouassi et al. 2008). Heim de Balsac & Lamotte (1958) and Coe (1975) recorded two species, M. setulosus Peters, 1876 and M. musculoides Smith, 1834 , on the Guinean and Liberian sides of Mount Nimba. Gautun et al. (1986) did not collected these species while Misonne & Verschuren (1976) were able to catch only one species, which they referred to as M. minutoides Smith, 1834 . During our survey we collected many specimens of this genus and have karyotyped five individuals which yielded two distinct chromosomal formulae. First, we obtained karyotypes of Mus setulosus (2 N = 36, NFa =34) and then of M. minutoides (2 N =34, NFa =32). The CytB sequencing of 23 specimens confirmed the presence of both species on Mount Nimba but added one species: M. baoulei Vermeiren & Verheyen, 1980 . Unfortunately, no karyotypes were done for this species of which we found only one individual. Mus baoulei was already recorded in eastern Guinea by Kan Kouassi et al. (2008) in Sudanian savanna. Coe (1975) collected small mice he attributed to M. musculoides without further details. Because M. minutoides and M. musculoides are sibling species, they may both occur at Nimba but are basically impossible to distinguish on morphological and morphometrical grounds. Hence, we were unable to identify some specimens to species level.