Cryptotis miausa, 2014

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 : 441

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869868

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A006-876A-FFF2-AF141198F57B

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Cryptotis miausa
status

 

133. View On

Blind Small-eared Shrew

Cryptotis miausa View in CoL

French: Musaraigne aveugle / German: Blinde Kleinohrspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de orejas pequenas ciega

Taxonomy. Cryptotis niausa Moreno & Albuja, 2014 View in CoL ,

“ ECUADOR: provincia de Napo: canton Quijos: Papallacta ( Paramos de La Virgen ), 00°20°49-2”S, 78°12°0"W, 3700 m, a 64 km al oriente de la ciudad de Quito.” GoogleMaps

Cryptotis niausa is in the C. thomasi group based on morphology, but molecular data found that C. niausa, C. evaristoi, and C. montivagus were closely related to either the C. mexicanus group or the C. nigrescens

group. It is provisionally retained in the C. thomasi group until sampling of more species within all three groups has been completed. Pleistocene fossils representing this species have been found in Ecuador. Monotypic.

Distribution. Andes of NC Ecuador. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head—body 54-93 mm, tail 30—41 mm, hindfoot 13-17 mm; weight 12-17 g. The Blind Small-eared Shrew is large, with grayish brown dorsum and slightly lighter venter; there is slight yellowish tinge along throat and chest. Forefeet are somewhat enlarged and robust, with long pointed claws. Tail is short (c.41% of head—body length), unicolored brownish, and covered with short hairs. Eyes are diminutive, and they are not actually blind but named after the native name for the species, “nausa ucucha,” meaning “blind mouse” in the Kichwa language. Ears are small and hidden under fur. Fourth unicuspid is small, and unicuspid row is relatively short and narrow. Posterior border of palatal is usually quite separated from M’. Zygomatic plate is narrow relative to length of skull. Protocone of P* is not very conspicuous. Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids.

Habitat. Paramo shrubland and sometimes surrounding montane wet forests at elevations of 2800-3900 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Blind Small-eared Shrew has a restricted distribution but is found in the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve and surrounding areas and seems to be moderately common and more widespread than other species of Cryptotis . Additional research is needed.

Bibliography. Moreno (2017), Moreno & Albuja (2014), Zeballos et al. (2018).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Soricomorpha

Family

Soricidae

Loc

Cryptotis miausa

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson 2018
2018
Loc

Cryptotis niausa

Moreno & Albuja 2014
2014
GBIF Dataset (for parent article) Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF