Eastern Spiny Mouse – Acomys dimidiatus

Acomys dimidiatusCretzschmar, 1826

Accepted name, Mammal Species of the World 2005

"Subgenus Acomys. Acomys dimidiatus is morphologically very similar to A. cahirinus and with few exceptions (e. g., Ellerman, 1941; Morrison-Scott, 1939; Setzer, 1959, 1975) has usually been listed in the synonymy of that species (Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951; Ellerman et al., 1953; Musser and Carleton, 1993). Volobouev et al. (1996:217) correctly noted ""The difficulty to find diagnostic morphological characters is especially notable in the cahirinus-dimidiatus group in which a number of forms and their taxonomic rank are subject to incessant revision."" The chromosomal differences ""provide a strong cytogenetic isolation"" demonstrating the species status of dimidiatus compared with cahirinus, a conclusion they had proposed in an earlier study contrasting chromosomal features among cahirinus, dimidiatus, and airensis (Volobouev et al., 1991). That separation is also indicated by comparative karyological studies ... [truncated]"

• Wilson, D and Reeder, D. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd ed. -- 2142 pp. Johns Hopkins University Press.