Thomas's Ethiopian brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys brunneus''), also called the brown brush-furred rat or the brown brush-furred mouse, is a species of

brush-furred mouse The brush-furred mice, genus ''Lophuromys'' are a group of rodents found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are members of the subfamily Deomyinae, a group only identifiable through molecular analysis. ''Lophuromys'' is also known as the brush-furr ...

from Southern Ethiopia.

Description

The holotype had a body long and a tail long. The body is a pale brown with a pale brown or clay-colored belly.

Range and habitat

''L. brunneus'' is endemic to the highlands of Southern Ethiopia, from the Semien Mountains to Manno-Jimma. The type locality is around the Omo River.

History

It was originally described as a subspecies of '' Lophuromys aquilus'' (''L. aquilus brunneus'') in 1906 by

Oldfield Thomas Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appoin ...

, from a specimen collected 13 May 1905. It was reclassified as a subspecies of '' Lophuromys flavopunctatus'' in 1936 as a synonym to subspecies ''L. flavopunctatus zaphiri''. In 2002, it was elevated to species status.

Phylogeny

The species is closely related to the

Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat The Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat or golden-footed brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys chrysopus''), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Ethiopia where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests ...

(''Lophuromys chrysopus''). It is believed to have interbred with ''L. flavopunctatus''.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2847063 Lophuromys Mammals of Ethiopia Endemic fauna of Ethiopia Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1906 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas