Episoriculus caudatus (Horsfield, 1851)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 332-551 : 451

157.

Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew

Episoriculus caudatus

French: Musaraigne de Hodgson / German: Hodgson-Braunzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de dientes marrones de Hodgson

Taxonomy. Sorex caudatus Horsfield, 1851 ,

“ Sikim and Darjeling, Upper India.”

Episoriculus caudatus used to include sa- cratus and umbrinus as subspecies and in- clude soluensis as a synonym, all of which are considered distinct species based on different karyotypes. Morphological and distributional boundaries have not been established. Monotypic.

Distribution. N India, Nepal, and SW China (8S Tibet [= Xizang]).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-70 mm, tail 46-65 mm, ear 5-9 mm, hindfoot 10-16 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 16-7-18-8 mm, and tooth rows are 7-4-8 mm. Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew is medium-sized. Morphological boundary is not entirely clear between Hodgson’s Browntoothed Shrew and the Nepalese Brown-toothed Shrew (E. soluensis). Braincase is very dome-shaped and high. It has four upper unicuspids, and fourth upper unicuspid is highly reduced. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 60 and FN = 118.

Habitat. Broad-leaved evergreen forests, rhododendron forests, and moist conifer forest at midto high elevations.

Food and Feeding. Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew is insectivorous.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew has a large distribution, and habitats in the Himalayan regions are probably well protected.

Bibliography. Abe (1977), Hoffmann (1985), Motokawa & Lin Liangkong (2005), Motokawa, Harada et al. (2008), Motokawa, Wu Yi & Harada (2009).

Figures

136. Elliot’s Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina hulophaga), 137. Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicaudus), 138. Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis), 139. Everglades Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina peninsulae), 140. Sherman’s Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina shermani), 141. Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella quadraticauda), 142. Burmese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella wardi), 143. Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella griselda), 144. Chinese Mole Shrew (Anourosorex squamaipes), 145. Taiwanese Mole Shrew (Anowrosorex yamashinai), 146. Assam Mole Shrew (Anowrosorex assamensis), 147. Giant Mole Shrew (Anourosorex schmid), 148. Desert Gray Shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi), 149. Cockrum’s Gray Shrew (Notiosorex cockrumi), 150. Large-eared Gray Shrew (Notiosorex evolis), 151. Villa’s Gray Shrew (Notiosorex villa), 152. Mexican Shrew (Megasorex gigas), 153. Taiwanese Brown-toothed (Shrew Epusoriculusfumidus), 154. Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus macrurus), 155. Bailey's Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus baileyi), 156. Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus leucops), 157. Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus caudatus), 158. Sichuan Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus sacratus), 159. Hidden Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus umbrinus), 160. Nepalese Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus soluensis), 161. Himalayan Shrew (Soriculus nigrescens), 162. De Winton’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hypsibia), 163. Pygmy Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parva), 164. Smith’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa smithii), 165. Salenski’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa salenskii), 166. Dusky Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa furva), 167. Lesser Taiwanese Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa sodalis), 168. Van Sung’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa caovansunga), 169. Hoffmann’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hoffmanni), 170. Lowe’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parca), 171. Bornean Water Shrew (Chimarrogale phaeura), 172. Sumatran Water Shrew (Chimarrogale sumatrana), 173. Malayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale hantu), 174. Chinese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale styani), 175. Himalayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale himalayica), 176. Leander’s Water Shrew (Chimarrogale leander), 177. Japanese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale platycephala), 178. Elegant Water Shrew (Nectogale elegans), 179. Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus), 180. Transcaucasian Water (Shrew Neomysteres), 181. Eurasian Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens)

Distribution. N India, Nepal, and SW China (8S Tibet [= Xizang]).