Thomas's Ethiopian brush-furred rat

Thomas's Ethiopian brush-furred rat (Lophuromys brunneus) is a small rodent of the brush-furred mice, found in southern Ethiopia. It is also called the brown brush-furred rat or the brown brush-furred mouse. The holotype, the specimen on which the species was based, had a body about 125 millimetres (4.9 inches) long and a tail about 80 millimetres (3.1 inches) long, with pale brown fur and a pale brown or clay-colored belly. The species is endemic to the highlands of southern Ethiopia, from the Semien Mountains to Manno-Jimma, and its type locality lies around the Omo River. Oldfield Thomas first described it in 1906 as a subspecies of Lophuromys aquilus, from a specimen collected on 13 May 1905. It was later treated as a subspecies of Lophuromys flavopunctatus, and in 2002 it was raised to full species status. It is closely related to the Ethiopian forest brush-furred rat (Lophuromys chrysopus) and is believed to have interbred with Lophuromys flavopunctatus.