Enigmatic Ethiopian endemic rodent Muriculus imberbis (Ruppell 1842) represents a separate lineage within genus Mus

摘要

The phylogenetic position of the Ethiopian striped mouse (Muriculus imberbis) has remained obscure since its description. Here, we report, for the first time, the phylogenetic analysis of this species using mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (interphotoreceptor binding protein) gene sequences obtained from a specimen recently caught in the Galama Mountain in the southcentral Ethiopian highland region. The recent finding of the species in ericaceous shrub in the Afroalpine habitat is remarkable, as decades of attempts to capture it in this habitat failed, probably because of inappropriate trapping methods. Our analyses strongly suggest that the Ethiopian striped mouse does not belong to a distinct monotypic genus, but to the genus Mus, as the ancient lineage of the African subgenus Nannomys.