Dendromus mystacalis Heuglin 1863

Dendromus mystacalis Heuglin 1863, Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol., Halle, 30 (2): suppl. 5.

Type Locality: Ethiopia, Baschlo region (Ellerman et al., 1953, offered additional comments).

Vernacular Names: Chestnut African Climbing Mouse.

Synonyms: Dendromus acraeus Wroughton 1909; Dendromus ansorgei Thomas and Wroughton 1905; Dendromus capitis Heller 1912; Dendromus jamesoni Wroughton 1909; Dendromus lineatus Heller 1911; Dendromus nairobae Osgood 1910; Dendromus ochropus Osgood 1910; Dendromus pallescens Osgood 1910; Dendromus pongolensis Roberts 1931; Dendromus uthmoelleri Bohmann 1939; Dendromus whytei Wroughton 1909 .

Distribution: Much of C and E Africa (G. M. Allen and Loveridge, 1942; Ansell, 1978, 1989; Ansell and Dowsett, 1988; Delany, 1975; Lawrence and Loveridge, 1953; Smithers, 1971; Smithers and Lobao Tello, 1976; Smithers and Wilson, 1979; Stanley et al., 1998 b), including S Sudan (Setzer, 1956) and Ethiopia (Lavrenchenko, 2000; Yalden et al., 1996), as far south as Angola (Crawford-Cabral, 1966 b, 1998) and E South Africa (de Graaff, 1997 ee; Skinner and Smithers, 1990:308; Taylor, 1998); range based also on specimens in AMNH, BMNH, FMNH, and MCZ.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Upperparts are bright ochraceous-buff without a stripe in most samples, a faint strip in others; underparts range from white (usual) to buffy gray, the coloration typical of N Dem. Rep. Congo and AMNH series from Angola ( ansorgei, as per Thomas and Wroughton, 1905; Hill and Carter, 1941; and Hayman, 1963 b). Those samples without a faint middorsal stripe closely resemble D. messorius but are smaller and usually have buffy gray underparts (always white in messorius). This species is a morphological miniature of southern African D. mesomelas, the two are probably close phylogenetic allies, and both constitute one of the two species-pairs occurring in southern Africa (Avery, 1998). Morphological variation within this widely ranging species should be investigated to determine whether more than one species is represented.