Mus (Nannomys) setulosus Peters 1876

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1407

Mus (Nannomys) setulosus Peters 1876

Mus (Nannomys) setulosus Peters 1876 , Monatsb. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin: 480.

Type Locality: Cameroon, Victoria.

Vernacular Names: Peters's Mouse.

Synonyms: Mus (Nannomys) pasha (Thomas 1910) ; Mus (Nannomys) proconodon Rhoads 1896 .

Distribution: From Senegal ( Duplantier and Granjon, 1992), Guinea (Mt Nimba) and Sierra Leone; eastward through Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, N Dem. Rep. Congo (Orientale), S Sudan, WC and S Ethiopia; to N Uganda and W Kenya (range documented by Grubb et al., 1998; Rosevear, 1969; F. Petter and Genest, 1970; our study of samples in AMNH, BMNH, FMNH, and USNM).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Nannomys . A distinct species sometimes confused with M. minutoides , which occurs over approximately the same region ( Rosevear, 1969). Multivariate analysis of morphometric traits by Macholán (2001) indicated that M. setulosus and M. minutoides were distantly related. Both pasha ( Thomas, 1910 a) and proconodon ( Rhoads, 1896) were originally described as species; Osgood (1936) associated pasha with M. proconodon , and we agree with his identification. F. Petter and Matthey (1975) regarded pasha as a species, noting that it might be referrable to M. setulosus . Both Osgood (1936) and Yalden et al. (1976) recognized proconodon as a species endemic to Ethiopia. Our study of Osgood's specimens, some of which are near-topotypes, revealed that their morphological traits fell within the range of variation typical of M. setulosus . Our identification was foreshadowed by F. Petter and Matthey (1975), who cited the range of M. setulosus to include Ethiopia, based on a letter from J. Prevost. Chromosomal data for samples from West Africa documented by Jotterand (1972), Jotterand-Bellomo (1981, 1986), and Matthey (1964).