MULTIVARIATE MORPHOMETRICS OF THE ETHIOPIAN POPULATIONS OF HARSH-FURRED RAT (LOPHUROMYS, MAMMALIA, RODENTIA)

We investigated the geographic variation of eight Ethiopian population s of the rodent Lophuromys flavopunctatus and compared them to the Bal e endemic species L. melanonyx. We used multivariate morphometrics and analysed independently skull and external body linear measurements, i n an attempt to relate morphological Variability to geography (latitud e, longitude, altitude). There is a high morphological diversity in th ese Ethiopian populations, which form three distinct recognizable grou ps, with the Bale population being the most distinct. The results of a nalyses on the two character sets corroborate each other and indicate that the kind of variation is not 'ecological' but rather there is a p hylogenetic cause, and relations at higher taxonomic level are suggest ed. There is a homogeneous group with five populations within which th ere is a recognizable pattern of clinal variation related to altitude, with a decrease in body size and a change in skull shape.