Acomys ngurui

Wim Wendelen is co-author of an October 2011 article published in Zootaxa in which two new spiny mice species, Acomys muzei and Acomys ngurui, are described. These two new East African species used to belong to the Acomys spinosissimus complex, but the study shows that this complex is indeed a group of distinct species with non-overlapping distribution ranges. The holotypes of the two new species are in our collection.

This study is part of a larger research effort on the taxonomy of these rodents. The analysis of a relatively recent collection of 18,000 specimens from Tanzania is now yielding plenty of new information.
Over the last decade, new molecular technologies have led to the description of numerous new rodent species. The RMCA, for example, possesses 36 holotypes and syntypes of rodents, 11 of which were described after 2000.

Holotype or syntype?
A holotype is the unique specimen used to describe a species.
A specimen is a syntype when several specimens are used to describe the species, without a specific one being designated as the holotype. In that case, all syntypes collectively constitute the reference.