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Issue: Vol. 1318 No. 1: 21 Sept. 2006
Type: Articles
Published: 2006-09-21
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.1318.1.3
Page range: 59–68
Abstract views: 46
PDF downloaded: 2

First record of the Dollman’s tree mouse (Prionomys batesi; Mammalia: Nesomyidae) in the Republic of Congo and additional description of this rare Central African rodent

Laboratoire Mammifères et Oiseaux, UMR 5202 Origine, structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité, USM 601, Département de Systématique et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 51-55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
CNRS, UMR 6553, Université de Rennes 1, Station Biologique, 35380 Paimpont, France
Laboratoire Mammifères et Oiseaux, UMR 5202 Origine, structure et Evolution de la Biodiversité, USM 601, Département de Systématique et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 51-55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Mammalia Prionomys Dendromurinae Biogeography Morphometry Africa Rodentia

Abstract

We present new data on the poorly known rodent Prionomys batesi Dollman, 1910. Recently, five specimens of this species were collected in Odzala National Park, which represent the first record of this species in Republic of Congo. These new captures, combined with the preparation of 15 specimens from Central African Republic allowed us to complete the morphological description of the species as well as, for the first time, to document intraspecific variability. This species is actually known from three countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic and Republic of Congo) and four localities (Bitye, Obala, La Maboké and Odzala). It seems to be restricted to areas of forest-savannah mosaic where the forest is actually colonising the savannah.

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