NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common African Fat Mouse
Steatomys pratensis Peters, 1846
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.
Common Fat Mouse (Steatomys pratensis) in Botswana
Botswanabugs · CC0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The fat mouse (Steatomys pratensis) is a species of rodent in the family Nesomyidae.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
Wikipedia contributors, Fat mouse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:38:17.438597+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Steatomys pratensis Peters, 1846
- Name authority
- Peters, 1846
- Common name
- Common African Fat Mouse
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Nesomyidae
- Genus
- Steatomys
- 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
- genusSteatomys Peters, 1846
- speciesSteatomys pratensis Peters, 1846
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Steatomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Northwestern African Fat MouseSteatomys caurinus Thomas, 1912 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dainty African Fat MouseSteatomys cuppedius Thomas & Hinton, 1920 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jackson's African Fat MouseSteatomys jacksoni Hayman, 1936 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kreb's African Fat MouseSteatomys krebsii Peters, 1852 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tiny African Fat MouseSteatomys parvus Rhoads, 1896 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bocage's African Fat MouseSteatomys bocagei Thomas, 1892 | NesomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pousargues's African Fat MouseSteatomys opimus Pousargues, 1894 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Steatomys natalensis Roberts, 1929 Roberts, 1929 | synonym |
| Steatomys pratensis maunensis Roberts, 1932 Roberts, 1932 | synonym |
| Steatomys edulis Peters, 1852 Peters, 1852 | 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=632724 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:4ZMTB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.