Sicista leathemi Thomas, 1893

Deng, Yu, Liu, Qing, Wang, Xuming, Li, Binbin V., Wang, Jing, Liu, Shuang, Liao, Rui, Liu, Shaoying & Chen, Shunde, 2025, Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the Sicista concolor group (Mammalia, Rodentia, Sicistidae) with the description of a new species, Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3), pp. 1197-1211 : 1197-1211

Sicista leathemi Thomas, 1893

Type locality.

the Kashmir region.

Diagnosis.

Compared to other birch mice, the incisor foramina is shorter, extending posteriorly only to the middle level of the first molar, with the posterior end of the maxilla near the anterior edge of the molars.

Remarks.

The tail is brown with a bicolored pattern. The dorsal body is brown, with no dark stripes along the midline, while the ventral fur is grayish-white, with an indistinct boundary between the dorsal and ventral regions. The tips of the fur are russet, interspersed with longer, coarser black hairs, with the base of the fur grayish-white. The claws are long and prominent, with a dull grayish-white surface. The hindfoot is entirely white, with no plantar pads, while the back of the front feet is dark brown, and the toes are white.

S. leathemi is typically considered a subspecies of S. concolor . However, Lebedev et al. (2019) proposed that it might represent a distinct species. Liu et al. (2025) proposed restoring S. leathemi to species status based on mitochondrial gene data and morphological evidence. Our findings also support this possibility (Fig. 2 a ).

Distribution.

It is distributed in the alpine or subalpine scrub regions of the Himalayas, with reports from areas such as Kashmir and Tibet, China.

Figures

Figure 2. Bayesian and ML phylogenetic analyses based on the three datasets. a. dataset I (CYTB); b dataset II (IRBP + GHR, nuDNA), and c. dataset III (CYTB + IRBP + GHR, mtDNA + nuDNA). Numbers above or below branches correspond to Bayesian posterior probabilities and ML bootstrap values.