Species
Arvicanthis abyssinicus
Description
Arvicanthis abyssinicus (Rüppel, 1842)
This species was described from Semien Mts. (Entschetgab = Entschetqab). The only species of Arvicanthis repeatedly captured in the Semien Mts. during three recent expeditions has mtDNA very similar to A. blicki, but is very distinct at nuclear markers and very likely not conspecific with A. blicki (see similar situation in Stenocephalemys albocaudatus vs. S. sp. “A”; Bryja et al. 2018a). All genotyped Arvicanthis from the Semien Mts. were captured at 3600-3900 m a.s.l. and no Arvicanthis was captured below 3600 m (Craig et al., in lit.). This is in contradiction to the original description of A. abyssinicus, because the type locality lies at the elevation of 3250 m a.s.l. (Bryja et al. 2019; but incorrect in Yalden et al. 1976). Yalden et al. (1976, 1996) reported A. abyssinicus as a very common species over a wide elevational range 1300-3400 m a.s.l., which is not confirmed by genetic data. The type material of A. abyssinicus is unfortunately damaged to the extent that it cannot be used for any multivariate analysis of skull morphology (O. Mikula, pers. comm.; see also Yalden et al. 1976). Here we follow Bryja et al. (2019) and use the name A. abyssinicus only for the high-elevation taxon, which was (besides the Semien Mts.) genetically confirmed also in other high mountains in north-western Ethiopia (Guna, Choqa, Aboye Gara and Borena Saynt).
Taxonomy
Arvicanthis abyssinicus is a species. It belogs to the Muridae family.
