Kingdom Animalia Class Mammalia Superfamily Muroidea | Phylum Chordata Order Rodentia Family Muridae | |
People also search for Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat | ||
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 from Southern Ethiopia.
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Description
The holotype had a body 125 millimetres (4.9 in) long and a tail 80 millimetres (3.1 in) 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, 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 (Lophuromys chrysopus). It is believed to have interbred with L. flavopunctatus.