Crocidura lepidura, Lyon, 1908
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870100 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A07B-8710-FA17-A2D016F5F9C0 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura lepidura |
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Sumatran Giant White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura lepidura View in CoL
French: Crocidure de Lyon / German: Sumatra-Weif 3zahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafna gigante de Sumatra
Other common names: Sumatran Giant Shrew
Taxonomy. Crocidura lepidura Lyon, 1908 View in CoL ,
Kateman River , eastern Sumatra, Indonesia.
Formerly included in C. fuliginosa but sep- arated as a Sumatran endemic by M. Rue- di in 1995; this treatment was followed by R. Hutterer in 2005. According to recent phylogenetic studies by J. A. Esselstyn and R. M. Brown in 2009, and T. C. Demos and others o in 2016,it ale is closely related to other Sumatran shrews such as C. hutanis , C. beccari, and C. vosmaeri , and more distantly to
the Javanese C. brunnea and C. orientalis . Includes villosa as a synonym. Monotypic.
Distribution. Endemic to Sumatra; it seems widely distributed from upper montane rainforest in W Sumatra to hillsides in E & S Sumatra. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 90-112 mm, tail 60-84 mm, hindfoot 16-7-18-8 mm; weight 13-21-5 g. Condylo-incisive length 23.9-26:4 mm. The Sumatran Giant White-toothed Shrew is the largest shrew in Sumatra, and is only approached in size by the slightly smaller Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew ( C. baluensis ) of Borneo. Blackish upperparts have relatively stiff, long hairs (7-9 mm on mid-dorsum). Sparse, shining, longer guard hairs give a grizzled appearance to its dorsal pelage. The contrasting midline ventral part is variable in color, from slate gray to chocolate brown.
Tail is relatively long, brownish black above, and paler beneath, with short, stiff applied hairs and only a few bristles at the base of the tail. Upper surfaces of foreand hindfeet are brownish. In skull measurements the Sumatran Giant Shrew is larger than any other Sumatran Crocidura . There is a great morphological resemblance between this species and the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew: apart from slightly smaller skull dimensions and smaller hindfeet, there is hardly any difference between the species, but they may be convergent forms, not closely related. Dentition is strong and robust. Most specimen have a bifid mesostyle on M* (and sometimes M?), a character also found in other Indomalayan shrews. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 37-38 and FN = 54. It shares a polymorphic translocation of two acrocentrics with the Hutan White-toothed Shrew ( C. hutanis ), also of Sumatra; this is a rather unusual phenomenon in shrews.
Habitat. Primary lowland and montane forest. It ranges from sea level up to 2000 m, attaining its maximum abundance in highly degraded forest and cultivated lands at elevations of 1500-1800 m. Trapped at 1500-1800 m in Mount Kerinci area, where revealed to be sympatric with Beccari’s White-toothed Shrew ( C. beccarii ) and the Sumatran Long-tailed White-toothed Shrew ( C. paradoxura ), and also with other terrestrial insectivores of the family Galericidae , namely the Shorttailed Gymnure ( Hylomys suillus), and the Dwarf Gymnure (H. parvus). The upper distribution range of the Sumatran Giant White-toothed Shrew may be limited by the Dwarf Gymnure, which was most abundant in the moss forest around 3000 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List in view ofits wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, and presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. There are no major threats to this adaptable species. Given its wide range, the Sumatran Giant White-toothed Shrew is likely to be present in a number of protected areas.
Bibliography. Cassola (2016z), Corbet & Hill (1992), Demos et al. (2016), Esselstyn & Brown (2009), Hutterer (1993, 2005b), Jenkins (1982), Lyon (1908), Ruedi (1995), Ruedi & Vogel (1995), Ruedi et al. (1994).
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.
