Heller's vlei rat

Heller's vlei rat (Otomys helleri) is a rodent in the family Muridae that is endemic to Ethiopia, where it is found on the Arussi Plateau and in the Bale Mountains. Childs Frick first described it in 1914 under the name Otomys jacksoni helleri. It was later treated as a subspecies of Otomys typus, the Ethiopian vlei rat, and then as a synonym, until Taylor and colleagues raised it to species status in 2011. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN because of its vast area of occurrence. The Mammal Diversity Database gives the type locality as Chilalo Divide Camp, at about 2743 metres, in Ethiopia and places the species in the genus Otomys within the tribe Otomyini.