Suncus murinus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Rainer Hutterer, 1993, Order Insectivora, Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 69-130 : 103

Suncus murinus (Linnaeus, 1766) . Syst. Nat., 12th ed., 1:74.

TYPE LOCALITY: Indonesia, Java .

DISTRIBUTION: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Taiwan, Japan, continental and peninsular Indomalayan Region; introduced into Guam, the Maidive Islands, and probably many other islands; introduced in historical times into coastal Affica ( Egypt to Tanzania), Madagascar, the Comores, Mauritius, and Réunion, and into coastal Arabia ( Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia).

SYNONYMS: albicauda, albinus, andersoni , auriculata, beddontei, blanfordii, blythii, caerulaeus, caerulescens, caeruleus, celebensis, ceylanica, crassicaudus, duvernoyi, edwardsiana, fulvocinerea, fuscipes, geoffroyi, giganteus, griffithii, heterodon, indicus, kandianus, kroonii, kuekenthali, leucura , luzoniensis, malabaricus, mauritiana, media, melanodon, microtis, mulleri, muschata, myosurus, nemorivagus, nitidofulva, occultidens, palawanensis , pealana, pilorides, riukiuana, rubicunda, sacer , saturatior, semmelincki, semmeliki, serpentarius, sindensis, soccatus, sonneratii, swinhoei, temminckii, tytleri, unicolor, viridescens, waldemarii.

COMMENTS: A very variable species with a number of genetically distinct populations which almost behave like semispecies ( Hasler et al., 1977; Yamagata et al., 1987; Yoshida, 1985). A number of laboratory strains have been established ( Oda et al., 1985). Much of the present distribution is the result of human agency ( Hutterer and Tranier, 1990). Includes albicauda, auriculata, crassicaudus, duvernoyi, leucura , mauritiana, sacer , and geoffroyi; see Heim de Balsac and Meester (1977). Includes edwardsiana (formerly in Crocidura ), luzoniensis, occultidens, and palawanensis ; see Heaney et al. (1987).