NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
East African Vlei Rat
Otomys tropicalis Thomas, 1902
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 tropical vlei rat (Otomys tropicalis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, swamps, and plantations.
Wikipedia contributors, Tropical vlei rat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:29:04.919773+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Otomys tropicalis Thomas, 1902
- Name authority
- Thomas, 1902
- Common name
- East African 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.
- 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
- familyMuridae Illiger, 1811
- subfamilyOtomyinae Thomas, 1897
- genusOtomys F. Cuvier, 1824
- speciesOtomys tropicalis Thomas, 1902
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Otomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Burton's Vlei RatOtomys burtoni Thomas, 1918 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dollman's Vlei RatOtomys dollmani Heller, 1912 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Otomys helleri Frick, 1914 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mount Elgon Vlei RatOtomys jacksoni Thomas, 1891 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tanzanian Vlei RatOtomys lacustris G. M. Allen & Loveridge, 1933 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| KwaZulu Vlei RatOtomys laminatus Thomas & Schwann, 1905 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large Vlei RatOtomys maximus Roberts, 1924 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Saunders' Vlei RatOtomys saundersiae Roberts, 1929 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Otomys thomasi Osgood, 1910 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ethiopian Vlei RatOtomys typus (Heuglin, 1877) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Vlei RatOtomys occidentalis Dieterlen & Van der Straeten, 1992 | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Angolan Vlei RatOtomys anchietae (Bocage, 1882) | MuridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Otomys irroratus elgonis Wroughton, 1910 Wroughton, 1910 | 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=632801 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:4B7L6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.