Annotated checklist, taxonomy and distribution of rodents in Ethiopia

Abstract

We provide an annotated checklist of rodents of Ethiopia. For each species we show a distributional map based on critically revised data from: (1) published literature; (2) museum collections, including records in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF); and (3) recent field surveys performed in the last three decades as part of the Joint Ethio-Russian Biological Expedition (JERBE) and Ethio-Czech Research Projects. In most cases recent material was analysed in detail using genetic and/or morphometric approaches. In total, the Ethiopian rodent fauna consists of 104 species (40 genera, 10 families). Compared to previous studies we were not able to confirm the presence of 12 species, probably due to a lack of data from arid lowland areas, though some of these species may be extinct. We report the occurrence of > 40 species not previously included in a checklist published in 1996 (with many species still requiring formal description). Of the total number of species recorded, a high proportion are endemics of Ethiopian Highlands (43 species = 41.3 %), followed by those living in Somali-Masai (27) and Sudanian (13) savanna. The checklist confirms an unusually high level of Ethiopian rodent biodiversity, which should serve as a basis for conservation.