Published December 31, 2005 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Lenothrix Miller 1903

Description

Lenothrix Miller 1903

Lenothrix Miller 1903, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 26 (1317): 466.

Type Species: Lenothrix canus Miller 1903

Species and subspecies: 1 species:

Species Lenothrix canus Miller 1903

Discussion: Pithecheir Division. Chromosomal and biochemical data suggested a close phylogenetic link between Lenothrix and Niviventer (Chan et al., 1979), and a high divergence from species of Maxomys, which were once placed in Lenothrix (Gadi and Sharma, 1983). In its cranial and dental morphology, Lenothrix is unlike any species in those genera; derived molar occlusal patterns are much like those in Pithecheir and Lenomys (Chaimanee, 1998; Misonne, 1969; Musser and Newcomb, 1983), but spermatozoal conformation is highly divergent from any Sundaic murine. In sum, Lenothrix is a Sundaic endemic characterized by many primitive external, cranial, dental, and chromosomal features and a few derived dental and spermatozoal traits; despite several claims, its phylogenetic relationships still require illumination (see discussions in Chaimanee, 1998; Breed and Yong, 1986; Musser, 1981 a, b, c; Musser and Newcomb, 1983). Its inclusion here in a Pithecheir Division reflects an hypothesis that has to be tested by analyses of molecular and a range of morphological data. Lenothrix was included in a Pithecheir Section of a larger Micromys Group by Pavlinov et al. (1995 a). Lenothrix may be a member of one of the earliest groups to have diverged from the core murine lineage as represented by a Progonomys like ancestor (Chaimanee, 1998). Sundaic Pithecheir and Pithecheirops, along with Sulawesian Eropeplus, Lenomys, and Margaretamys, are likely members of the same cluster.

Notes

Published as part of Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, pp. 1189-1531 in Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore :The Johns Hopkins University Press on page 1344, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316535

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Miller
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Lenothrix
Taxon rank
genus
Taxonomic concept label
Lenothrix Miller, 1903 sec. Wilson & Reeder, 2005

References

  • Chan, K. L., S. S. Dhaliwal, and H. S. Yong. 1979. Protein variation and systematics of three subgenera of Malayan rats (Rodentia: Muridae, genus Rattus Fischer). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 64 B: 329 - 337.
  • Gadi, I. K., and T. Sharma. 1983. Cytogenetic relationships in Rattus, Cremnomys, Millardia, Nesokia and Bandicota. Genetica, 61: 21 - 40.
  • Chaimanee, Y. 1998. Plio-Pleistocene rodents of Thailand. Thai Studies in Biodiversity No. 3: 303 pp.
  • Misonne, X. 1969. African and Indo-Australian Muridae: Evolutionary trends. Annales Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Serie IN- 8, Sciences Zoologiques, 172: 1 - 219.
  • Musser, G. G., and C. Newcomb. 1983. Malaysian murids and the giant rat of Sumatra. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 174: 327 - 598.
  • Breed, W. G., and H. S. Yong. 1986. Sperm morphology of murid rodents from Malaysia and its possible phylogenetic significance. American Museum Novitates, 2856: 1 - 12.
  • Musser, G. G. 1981 a. A new genus of arboreal rat from West Java, Indonesia. Zoologische Verhandelingen uitgegeven door het Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie te Leiden, 189: 1 - 35.
  • Pavlinov, I. Ya, E. L. Yakhontov, and A. K. Agadzhanyan. 1995 a. [Mammals of Eurasia. I. Rodentia. Taxonomic and geographic guide.] Archives of the Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, 32: 289 pp. (in Russian).