Suncus Ehrenberg 1832

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Soricomorpha, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 220-311 : 257

Suncus Ehrenberg 1832

Suncus Ehrenberg 1832 , in: Hemprich and Ehrenberg, Symb. Phys. Mamm., Vol. 2: k.

Type Species: Suncus sacer Ehrenberg 1832

Synonyms: Pachyura de Selys-Longchamps 1839 ; Paradoxodon Wagner 1855 ; Plerodus Schulze 1897 ; Podihik Deraniyagala 1958 ; Sunkus Sundevall 1843 .

Species and subspecies: 18 species with 2 subspecies:

Species Suncus aequatorius Heller 1912

Species Suncus ater Medway 1965

Species Suncus dayi Dobson 1888

Species Suncus etruscus (Savi 1822)

Species Suncus fellowesgordoni Phillips 1932

Species Suncus hosei Thomas 1893

Species Suncus infinitesimus Heller 1912

Species Suncus lixus Thomas 1897

Species Suncus madagascariensis Coquerel 1848

Species Suncus malayanus Kloss 1917

Species Suncus megalura Jentink 1888

Species Suncus mertensi Kock 1974

Species Suncus montanus Kelaart 1850

Subspecies Suncus montanus subsp. montanus Kelaart 1850

Subspecies Suncus montanus subsp. niger Horsfield 1851

Species Suncus murinus ( Linnaeus 1766)

Species Suncus remyi Brosset, Dubost and Heim de Balsac 1965

Species Suncus stoliczkanus Anderson 1877

Species Suncus varilla Thomas 1895

Species Suncus zeylanicus Phillips 1928

Discussion: For placement in Crocidurinae see Repenning (1967:15). Occasionally regarded as part of Crocidura (e.g., Lekagul and McNeely, 1977:35), based on morphology ( McLellan, 1994), molecular data ( Motokawa et al., 2000), or chromosome homology ( Biltueva et al., 2001), but accepted as a full genus by most authors. Fons et al. (1994) stated that the fauna of parasitic helmiths is completely different between Suncus and Crocidura (but the fauna of S. murinus and S. etruscus were also different). Querouil et al. (2001) compared 16s rRNA sequences of six African and Asian species of Suncus . Their results suggest paraphyly; Suncus dayi clustered next to Sylvisorex megalura (transfered here to Suncus ) and the smaller species ( S. etruscus , S. infinitesimus , S. remyi ), while S. murinus and S. montanus formed a separate cluster, along with Ruwenzorisorex suncoides . With further knowledge it may be warranted to break up Suncus into two subgenera or genera. Suncus is available for S. murinus and allies, while Paradoxodon is available for S. etruscus and other small species. However, for several unstudied species a correct allocation is not possible yet. The name Pachyura , which had been in use for a long time, is preoccupied. Meester and Lambrechts (1971) revised the southern African species. Jenkins et al. (1998) discussed relationships among Asian species.