Graphiurus (Graphiurus) angolensis de Winton 1897

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 : 822

Graphiurus (Graphiurus) angolensis de Winton 1897

Graphiurus (Graphiurus) angolensis de Winton 1897 , Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 20: 320.

Type Locality: Angola, Caconda .

Vernacular Names: Angolan African Dormouse.

Synonyms: Graphiurus (Graphiurus) dasilvai ( Roberts 1938) ; Graphiurus (Graphiurus) parvulus Monard 1933 .

Distribution: Angola ( Hill and Carter, 1941) and NW Zambia ( Ansell, 1978).

Discussion: Subgenus Graphiurus . Following the arrangement of Ellerman et al. (1953), Holden (1993) provisionally assigned dasilvai and parvulus as synonyms of G. platyops . Ansell (1974, 1978) recognized that the NW Zambian population (identified by him as G. platyops parvulus ) is morphologically and ecologically different from G. platyops . Based on my study of type specimens and large series of Angolan and Zambian specimens, the Angolan and NW Zambia populations exhibit a distinctive skull morphology that is consistently separable from that of G. platyops and G. rupicola . Ansell (1974, 1978) correctly surmised that these populations are probably phylogenetically aligned with G. microtis .

Graphiurus angolensis (de Winton, 1897) , precedes Graphiurus parvulus Monard, 1932 , and is the correct name for these populations. Assigning parvulus as a junior synonym is problematic. In describing parvulus, Monard (1933) did not designate a holotype, based his description upon several specimens, and listed three localities where he caught this dormouse. He later provided a more detailed description of parvulus , identified nine specimens as representing the species, along with a table of measurements ( Monard, 1935). I examined several of Monard’s specimens; most are either young or poorly preserved, and except for their paler dorsal pelage color, the material appears inseparable from samples of G. angolensis .

Graphiurus ocularis , which occurs in South Africa, was reported from Parc National de l’Upemba, Dem. Rep. Congo ( Verschuren, 1987). The specimen upon which the G. ocularis record appears to be based (examined by me in IRSNB) consists of only a skin that closely resembles G. angolensis , although it could possibly represent a large or overstuffed individual of G. microtis ; the skin is not an example of G. ocularis . The relationship between populations representing G. angolensis and G. microtis needs to be studied and documented. Reviewed by Holden (In Press) .