Afroalpine vlei rat explained

The afroalpine vlei rat (Otomys orestes) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found in the high moorlands of Kenya.^[1]

Taxonomy

In Musser and Carleton (2005), this species included a number of subspecies.

Otomys thomasi (Thomas's vlei rat), which was initially described as a species by Osgood in 1910, was included under O. orestes in their work, alongside.^[2] However, Taylor et al. (2011) found that O. thomasi, O. zinki (Mount Kilimanjaro vlei rat) and others subspecies were distinct from O. orestes.^{[3] [4]}

References

• • Taylor, P. & Maree, S. 2004. Otomys orestes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 9 July 2007.

Notes and References

1. Carleton, M.D, and E.S. Schaefer. 2006. The status of Otomys orestes dollmani Heller, 1912 (Muridae: Otomyinae), a rodent described from the Mathews Range, central Kenya. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 119: 477–515.
2. Osgood . W. H. . Diagnoses of new East African mammals, including a new genus of Muridae . Field Museum of Natural History . 1910 . 10 . 2 . 17 February 2023.
3. Taylor . Peter J. . Lavrenchenko . Leonid A. . Carleton . Michael D. . Verheyen . Erik . Bennett . Nigel C. . Oosthuizen . Carel J. . Maree . Sarita . Specific limits and emerging diversity patterns in East African populations of laminate-toothed rats, genus Otomys (Muridae: Murinae: Otomyini): Revision of the Otomys typus complex . Zootaxa . 13 September 2011 . 3024 . 1 . 1–66 . 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.3024.1.1. 59381852. 17 February 2023.
4. Taylor. P.J.. Relton. C.. 2021 . Otomys thomasi. e.T48016232A78324728. 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T48016232A78324728.en.