NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Montane African Climbing Mouse
Dendromus insignis (Thomas, 1903)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The montane African climbing mouse or remarkable climbing mouse (Dendromus insignis) is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Wikipedia contributors, Montane African climbing mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:59:08.058356+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendromus insignis (Thomas, 1903)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1903)
- Common name
- Montane African Climbing Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Nesomyidae
- Genus
- Dendromus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyNesomyidae Forsyth Major, 1897
- subfamilyDendromurinae G. M. Allen, 1939
- genusDendromus A. Smith, 1829
- speciesDendromus insignis (Thomas, 1903)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dendromus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lovat's African Climbing MouseDendromus lovati (de Winton, 1900) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray African Climbing MouseDendromus melanotis (A. Smith, 1834) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut African Climbing MouseDendromus mystacalis (Heuglin, 1863) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kivu African Climbing MouseDendromus nyasae Thomas, 1916 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vernay's African Climbing MouseDendromus vernayi Hill & Carter, 1937 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brant's Climbing MouseDendromus mesomelas (Brants, 1827) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mt Kahuzi African Climbing MouseDendromus kahuziensis Dieterlen, 1969 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monard's African Climbing MouseDendromus leucostomus Monard, 1933 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banana African Climbing MouseDendromus messorius (Thomas, 1903) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cameroon African Climbing MouseDendromus oreas Osgood, 1936 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dendromus mesomelas percivali Heller, 1912 Heller, 1912 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=632702 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:34QMZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.