Crocidura suaveolens (Pallas, 1811)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870217 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A04C-8721-FA2B-AE2D10AAFBAC |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura suaveolens |
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Lesser White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura suaveolens View in CoL
French: Crocidure des jardins / German: Gartenspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de campo
Other common names: Lesser Shrew
Taxonomy. Sorex suaveolens Pallas, 1811 ,
near Sevastopol, Khersones , Crimea Peninsula, Russia.
Evidence retrieved from karyotype com- position and mtDNA and nDNA sequenc- es places C. suaveolens in the C. suaveolens group. Composition of C. suaveolens has changed recently; C. suaveolens of Western and Central Europe are considered here as C. gueldenstaedtii mimula. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
C.s.suaveolensPallas,1811—SBelarus,C&EUkraine,Moldova,andEuropeanRussiaStoNCaucasusandEtoSUralMts.
C. s. pamarensis Ognev, 1928 — Pamir Mts. Also present in NW China and W & C Mongolia, but subspecies involved not known. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 47-80 mm, tail 25-40 mm; weight 6-5-9-4 g (immatures 4-6-5 g). The Lesser White-toothed Shrew is small to medium-sized and lightly built. Tail is rarely longer than 50% of head-body length. Pelage is bicolored. Dorsum varies from brownish gray to light gray in steppe populations. Venter varies from light gray to white in steppe populations. In winter, brownish tints of dorsum are more intense, venteris lighter, and color contrast between them is greater. Tail is usually bicolored and rarely unicolored, dark gray or brownish gray. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 40 and FN = 50, with four pairs of metacentric and submetacentric autosomes and 15 pairs of acrocentric autosomes. X-chromosome is large metacentric, and Ychromosomeis small acrocentric.
Habitat. Desert, steppe, and forest zones, preferring habitats with bushes or high grass stands near watersides and ruderal vegetation at sites of abandoned human houses and tilled fields. The Lesser White-toothed Shrew is found in various human dwellings such as nomadic tents (yurts) in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia) and apartments in Moscow high-rise apartment buildings, including rural houses from European Russia to Tian Shan.
Food and Feeding. In Trans-Ili Alatau, small beetles are most common in diets of Lesser White-toothed Shrews. In Turkmenistan, caterpillars, young bugs, mantids, and cockroaches are readily eaten, but darkling beetles and chafters (June beetles) are almost never eaten. Lesser White-toothed Shrews can dig insects out of the soil to up to 2 cm and hunt small geometrid moths by jumping and collecting them from grass blades. In laboratory conditions with food ad libitum, the Lesser White-toothed Shrew kills as many insects as possible and stores food. In North Caucasus, plant material is included in diets less often than in diets of sympatric species of red-toothed shrews. Daily food intake of Lesser White-toothed Shrews reaches 133% of body weight, but daily food intake of three times body weight was observed in Turkmenistan.
Breeding. Nests of Lesser White-toothed Shrews are often built under driftwood or plant litter at watersides, in haystacks, and in other similar places. Occasionally, nests are on the ground in dry grass or depressions and are similar in construction as nests of small passerine birds. Lesser White-toothed Shrews most likely dig burrows themselves in semi-deserts of Central Asia. A burrow 1 cm in diameter goes vertically down
3-3-5 m and ends with a nest chamber of 18-20 cm in diameter. Reproduction can last 7-8 months, starting in early February in riparian woodlands of southern Tajikistan and from mid-March to late September in North Caucasus. Breeding starts in late March in Pamir Mountains (elevations 1700-3600 m). Gestation lasts 24-32 days; numbers of embryos average 4-2-5-5/female (range 1-10).
Activity patterns. The Lesser White-toothed Shrew is active mostly at night. In Turkmenistan, 10-14 activity periods were observed during dark hours and averaged 24 minutes each; maximal duration of an activity period was 155 minutes.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Seasonal migrations of Lesser White-toothed Shrews have not been studied comprehensively but are quite distinct because abundance in dwellings, household buildings, haystacks, etc. always increases in autumn. Life span is no longer than 1-5 years, and a population is completely renewed during this time.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Lesser White-toothed Shrew is common in many parts of its extensive distribution but is almost never abundant. It is rare in northern regions of its distribution (i.e. forest zone of European Russia) and on regional Russian Red Lists of the Republic of Mordovia, Republic of Chuvashia, and Kaluga Region.
Bibliography. Almatov (1978), Bannikova et al. (2006), Bekenov et al. (1985), Dubey, Cosson et al. (2007), Gureev (1979), Isakov (1992b), Karami et al. (2008), Kuznetsov (1972), Sokolov & Tembotov (1989), Vlasak & Niethammer (1990), Zaitsev et al. (2014), Zima et al. (1998).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
