Genus
Acomys
Description
Genus Acomys I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1838
The genus Acomys (the spiny mouse) is distributed mainly in dry open habitats in Africa and the Middle East (Aghová et al. 2019). Due to significant intraspecific variability and generalized morphology, many spiny mice species cannot be easily distinguished using morphological characters (Bryja et al., 2019).
In Ethiopia, the study by Aghová et al. (2019) reported wide genetic variability with 10 genetic groups, where up to three morphologically and genetically distinct species may co-occur in the same locality (Bryja et al., 2019). Acomys species are widely distributed in semi-arid regions in Ethiopia including in Afar, Somali region, Abay Gorge, and southwestern and northern boarding areas of Ethiopia.
Taxonomy
Acomys is a genus. It belogs to the Muridae family.There are 11 lower taxonomic units covered in this database.
