Grammomys polionops

(Osgood, 1910)

Ethiopian Thicket Rat

Taxonomy

Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Euarchontoglires
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Supramyomorpha
Infraorder: Myomorphi
Superfamily: Muroidea
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Tribe: Arvicanthini
Genus: Grammomys

Species status

Living
Found in the wild

Authority citation

Osgood, W.H. 1910-02. Diagnoses of new East African mammals, including a new genus of Muridae. Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series 10(2):5-13.

Authority publication link

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4462395

Original name as described

Thamnomys surdaster polionops

Other common names

Ethiopian Grammomys · Short-snouted Thicket Rat · Loita Plain Grammomys · Loita Plain Thicket Rat · Short-snouted Grammomys

Type material

FMNH:Mamm:17112

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://portal.vertnet.org/o/fmnh/mammals?id=8fdb14fd-0701-4253-86ca-3a8f25b5e8d6

Type locality

Lukenya Mt., Ulukenia Hills, Kenya.

Biogeographic realm

Afrotropic

Country distribution

Ethiopia · Kenya · Tanzania

Taxonomy notes

split from G. dolichurus and includes minnae and the recently described brevirostris

Taxonomy notes citation

Kryštufek, B. 2008. Description of a new thicket rat from Kenya: Grammomys brevirostris n. sp. Acta Zoologica Lituanica 18(4):221-227. doi:10.2478/v10043-008-0036-6 · Bryja, J., Kerbis Peterhans, J.C., Lavrenchenko, L.A., Nicolas, V., Denys, C., Bryjová, A., Šumbera, R. and Mikula, O. 2025. Integrative taxonomic revision of the African thicket rats (Murinae: Grammomys): how genomics decreases the number of currently recognized species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 203(2):zlae057. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae057

IUCN Red List status

Not Evaluated

Species Permalink

https://mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006865

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details.

Total: 6 names and synonyms.

Thamnomys surdaster polionops

Osgood, 1910

Family

Muridae

Root name

polionops

Validity status

species

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

FMNH:Mamm:17112

Type kind

holotype

Original type locality

Lukenya Mountain, British East Africa

Type locality

Kenya.

Type specimen URI

http://portal.vertnet.org/o/fmnh/mammals?id=8fdb14fd-0701-4253-86ca-3a8f25b5e8d6

Authority page

8

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4462395

Authority publication

Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series

Name usages

Osgood (1910:8, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4462395) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/10092)
Allen (1939:421, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2782318) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/5450)
Musser & Carleton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8562)

Thamnomys ochraceus

G. M. Allen, 1912

Family

Muridae

Root name

ochraceus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

MCZ:Mamm:8126

Type kind

holotype

Type locality

Kenya.

Type specimen URI

https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/guid/MCZ:Mamm:8126

Authority page

442

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30209305

Authority publication

Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

Name usages

Musser & Carleton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8562)

Thamnomys macmillani ochraceus:

G. M. Allen, 1939

Family

Muridae

Root name

ochraceus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

420

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2782317

Authority publication

Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

Name usages

Allen (1939:420, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2782317) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/5450)

Grammomys minnae

Hutterer & Dieterlen, 1984

Family

Muridae

Root name

minnae

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

SMNS 24118

Type kind

holotype

Type locality

Ethiopia.

Authority page

10

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33441949

Authority publication

Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde

Name usages

Corbet & Hill (1991:179) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63070)
Musser & Carleton (1993:594) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63347)
Yalden, Largen, Kock & Hillman (1996:123) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36072)
Musser & Carleton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8562)
Happold (2013:417) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/27625)
Wilson, Mittermeier & Lacher (2017:763) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/57900)
Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #9459) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #9459) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2024, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9459/115092764) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67246)

Grammomys brevirostris

Kryštufek, 2008

Family

Muridae

Root name

brevirostris

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1976.838

Type kind

holotype

Original type locality

Kenya, Lemesikio, Loliondo, Loita Plains (S 01°30', E 35°09').

Type locality

Kenya: 1°30′S, 35°9′E.

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/b3d9ef59-db0a-4525-9d7e-706cc53f6409 https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/c55cdb1b-d9ef-4fd9-8a88-86e68e068b73

Authority page

222

Authority publication

Acta Zoologica Lituanica

Name usages

Wilson, Mittermeier & Lacher (2017:765) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/57900)
Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #100000518) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #100000518) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2024, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/47967714/78324718) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67246)

Grammomys polionops:

Bryja, Kerbis Peterhans, Lavrenchenko, Nicolas, Denys, Bryjová, Šumbera, & Mikula, 2025

Family

Muridae

Root name

polionops

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

17

Authority publication

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Name usages

Mammal Diversity Database (2024, https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006865) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67250)
Bryja, Kerbis Peterhans, Lavrenchenko, Nicolas, Denys, Bryjová, Šumbera & Mikula (2025:17) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/70770)

Publications

Search Crossref

Fetched automatically from Crossref and not curated by the MDD team. Only works with Grammomys polionops in the title or abstract are shown.

Searching Crossref…

Please send any edits, corrections, or unfilled data (including full citations) to mammaldiversity [at] gmail [dot] com.