Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840

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 : 650

Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840

Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse, 1840: 2 .

Cricetomys gambiensis Temminck, 1853: 168 .

REMARKS

The species was reported by Heim de Balsac & Lamotte (1958) on a Mount Nimba crest between 1550 and 1750 m. Coe (1975) found one individual at 500 m in the secondary forest and one specimen at 1300 m at the edge of the Parinari forest. Misonne & Verschuren (1976) collected three specimens in New Camp and Iti on the Liberian side of Mount Nimba that they attributed to C. gambianus in ombrophylous forest. We collected one specimen in an Hevea plantation at around 500 m during Mission 3 on the Liberian side of the Mount. Camera traps allowed to vizualize some individuals in lowland forest in Liberia in 2017 ( Appendix 8).

Coe (1975) indicated the external measurements for seven Cricetomys gambianus which he collected on the Liberian side of the Nimba. Unfortunately these specimens are not housed in the NHM and could not be examined (P. Jenckins pers. comm). We only have the external measurements available ( Table 9 ). The specimen MNHN-ZM-MO-1981-558 from Mount Nimba has no skin available and its broken skull is very damaged (left [premaxillary +maxillary+M1, two broken mandibles, left with m2 and right with m12]) and none of the skull distance measurements could be taken. It is relatively difficult here to confirm whether the Lamotte’s specimen fits well within C. gambianus or not. Our new specimen is smaller than Coe’s specimens ( Table 9 ). Because Coe (1975) and Misonne & Verschuren (1976) were aware of the revision of Genest-Villard (1967) we can confirm the coexistence of both species in Mount Nimba.