Otomys denti Thomas 1906

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 : 1526

Otomys denti Thomas 1906

Otomys denti Thomas 1906 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 18: 142.

Type Locality: Uganda, east slope of Mount Ruwenzori, Mubuku Valley, 6000 ft (as restricted by Moreau et al., 1946:420).

Vernacular Names: Dent's Vlei Rat.

Synonyms: Otomys kempi Dollman 1915 ; Otomys sungae Bohmann 1943 .

Distribution: Intermittently found in EC Africa—Ruwenzori Mtns, SW Uganda and contiguous Dem. Rep. Congo; through the Virunga volcanoes, E Dem. Rep. Congo (Kivu), Rwanda, and Burundi; to the Nyika Plateau, N Malawi and NE Zambia, and the Usambara and Uluguru mountains, EC Tanzania.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (nt).

Discussion: The form kempi was treated as a distinct species (e.g., Ellerman, 1941; Thomas, 1918 b), as originally described ( Dollman, 1915), and later reduced to subspecific rank by Bohmann (1952), as observed currently ( Ansell, 1978; Delany, 1975; Misonne, 1974; Musser and Carleton, 1993). Confirmation of its status and that of sungae , isolated in the Nyika Plateau and Eastern Arc Mtns, deserves critical evaluation.