Species
Otomys simiensis
Description
Otomys simiensis P.J. Taylor et al., 2011
A small-sized member of the O. typus species complex, described from the vicinity of the Sankaber campsite (3250 m a.s.l.) in the Semien Mts. The type series was collected in tree-heather forest (trees: Erica arborea,
Hypericum revolutum; shrub: Rosa abyssinica) with open grassy patches. At higher altitudes, this species seems to be replaced by O. typus, a common inhabitant of the Afroalpine zone in the Simien Mts. (Taylor et al. 2011, Craig et al., in lit.). We recently found a similar distributional pattern in the Aboye (Abohoy) Gara Mts., where both species co-occur in ca. 3500 m a.s.l., but only O. typus was found at higher altitudes (Meheretu et al., unpublished data). The populations from midelevation
altitudes around Kombolcha (2600 m a.s.l.) and Ankober (3100 m a.s.l.) form separate mitochondrial clades and should be further investigated.
Taxonomy
Otomys simiensis is a species. It belogs to the Muridae family.
