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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Mount Elgon Vlei Rat

Otomys jacksoni Thomas, 1891

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.

Otomys jacksoni

Otomys jacksoni

Joseph Smit · Public domain · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The Mount Elgon vlei rat (Otomys jacksoni) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano on the border between west-central Kenya and south-eastern Uganda. As of 2021, it is considered near threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and is under threat from fires and unsustainable resource extraction by humans.

Wikipedia contributors, Mount Elgon vlei rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:28:17.354889+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Otomys jacksoni Thomas, 1891
Name authority
Thomas, 1891
Common name
Mount Elgon Vlei Rat
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Otomys
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.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
  12. suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
  13. superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
  14. familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
  15. subfamilyOtomyinae Thomas, 1897
  16. genusOtomys F. Cuvier, 1824
  17. speciesOtomys jacksoni Thomas, 1891

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Otomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Burton's Vlei RatOtomys burtoni Thomas, 1918MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Dollman's Vlei RatOtomys dollmani Heller, 1912MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Otomys helleri Frick, 1914MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Tanzanian Vlei RatOtomys lacustris G. M. Allen & Loveridge, 1933MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
KwaZulu Vlei RatOtomys laminatus Thomas & Schwann, 1905MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Large Vlei RatOtomys maximus Roberts, 1924MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Saunders' Vlei RatOtomys saundersiae Roberts, 1929MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Otomys thomasi Osgood, 1910MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Ethiopian Vlei RatOtomys typus (Heuglin, 1877)MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Western Vlei RatOtomys occidentalis Dieterlen & Van der Straeten, 1992MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Angolan Vlei RatOtomys anchietae (Bocage, 1882)MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Angoni Vlei RatOtomys angoniensis Wroughton, 1906MuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 672 records assigned to Muridae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

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.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=970921 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.

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:4B7KN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.