NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Gray African Climbing Mouse
Dendromus melanotis (A. Smith, 1834)
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 gray climbing mouse (Dendromus melanotis) is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae.
It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, and temperate desert.
Wikipedia contributors, Gray climbing mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:44:01.252752+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dendromus melanotis (A. Smith, 1834)
- Name authority
- (A. Smith, 1834)
- Common name
- Gray 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 melanotis (A. Smith, 1834)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Montane African Climbing MouseDendromus insignis (Thomas, 1903) | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lovat's African Climbing MouseDendromus lovati (de Winton, 1900) | 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 concinnus Thomas, 1926 Thomas, 1926 | synonym |
| Dendromus spectabilis Heller, 1911 Heller, 1911 | synonym |
| Dendromys nigrifrons True, 1892 True, 1892 | synonym |
| Poemys melanotis insignis (Shortridge & Carter, 1938) (Shortridge & Carter, 1938) | synonym |
| Dendromus melanotis thorntoni Roberts, 1931 Roberts, 1931 | synonym |
| Dendromus arenarius Roberts, 1924 Roberts, 1924 | synonym |
| Dendromus exoneratus Thomas, 1918 Thomas, 1918 | synonym |
| Dendromys subtilis Sundevall, 1846 Sundevall, 1846 | synonym |
| Dendromus nigrifrons vulturnus Thomas, 1916 Thomas, 1916 | synonym |
| Dendromus melanotis capensis Roberts, 1931 Roberts, 1931 | synonym |
| Dendromus melanotis chiversi Roberts, 1929 Roberts, 1929 | synonym |
| Dendromus melanotis pretoriae Roberts, 1931 Roberts, 1931 | synonym |
| Dendromus melanotis basuticus Roberts, 1927 Roberts, 1927 | synonym |
| Dendromus nigrifrons shortridgei St. Leger, 1930 St. Leger, 1930 | 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=632706 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:34QN9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.