Graphiurus (Graphiurus) rupicola Thomas and Hinton 1925

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Gliridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 819-840 : 828

Graphiurus (Graphiurus) rupicola Thomas and Hinton 1925

Graphiurus (Graphiurus) rupicola Thomas and Hinton 1925 , Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1925: 232.

Type Locality: Namibia, Karibib, 3842 ft. (1171 m) .

Vernacular Names: Rupicolous African Dormouse.

Synonyms: Graphiurus (Graphiurus) australis ( Shortridge and Carter 1938) ; Graphiurus (Graphiurus) kaokoensis ( Roberts 1938) ; Graphiurus (Graphiurus) montosus ( Thomas and Hinton 1925) .

Distribution: Angola (M. E. Holden, unpubl.), Namibia ( Thomas and Hinton, 1925) and NW South Africa ( Shortridge and Carter, 1938), in a narrow strip from Mt Soque, Angola, south to Port Nolloth and Eenriet in Little Namaqualand, South Africa (see also Roberts, 1951).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Graphiurus . Ellerman et al. (1953) and Genest-Villard (1978) listed rupicola as a subspecies of G. platyops , but Roberts (1951) recognized it as a distinct species, a position followed here based on my study of museum specimens, including holotypes. The northern distributional limit for G. rupicola was previously thought to be Kamanjab, Namibia, but I found two specimens from Mt Soque, Angola (in FMNH) that represent G. rupicola . Reviewed by Rossolimo et al. (2001) and Holden (In Press). See comments under G. monardi regarding enigmatic specimens from Dilolo, Dem. Rep. Congo.