Nectogale elegans, Milne-Edwards, 1870

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 : 456

178.

Elegant Water Shrew

Nectogale elegans

French: Nectogale élégant / German: Gebirgsbachspitzmaus / Spanish: Musgano elegante

Other common names: \ Veb-footed Water Shrew

Taxonomy. Nectogale elegans Milne-Edwards, 1870 ,

Moupin (= Baoxing) , Sichuan, China.

Nectogale elegans includes sikhimensis from Sikkim as a synonym. Monotypic.

Distribution. Himalayas including E Nepal, NE India, and Bhutan, C & W China (Shaanxi, Sichuan, SE Tibet [= Xizang], and Yunnan), and N Myanmar.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 99-125 mm, tail 96-115 mm, hindfoot 23-32 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 23-9-27-1 mm, and tooth rows are 10-6-12-2 mm. Dorsal pelage is nearly black, with scattered whitetipped guard hairs especially on rump. Ventral pelage is white. Dorsum and venter are sharply bicolored. Forefeet and hindfeet are webbed to bases of terminal phalanges, and their edges have fringes of stiff flattened hairs. Disk-like pads on forefeet and hindfeet serve as adhesive disks for climbing. Tail is equipped with one dorsal, two ventral, and two lateral keels of short stiff hairs. Eyes are very small, c.1 mm in diameter, and covered by skin. External ears are completely reduced so that only slim openings can be traced. Breadth of skull is larger than species of Chimarrogale , Neomys , and Sorex , and braincaseis flattened. Morphology of male reproductive tract is not specialized and similar to those of species of Suncus and Crocidura . Cusps of teeth are unpigmented. There are three upper unicuspids. Dental formulais13/2,C1/0,P1/1,M 3/3 (x2) = 28.

Habitat. Cold streams and rivers at middle to high elevations (1500-3900 m). Where the Elegant Water Shrew and the Himalayan Water Shrew ( Chimarrogale himalayica ) are sympatrically distributed in south-western China, the Elegant Water Shrew tends to inhabit lower elevations.

Food and Feeding. Elegant Water Shrews have been recorded foraging for aquatic invertebrates and small fish. It is assumed that they feed on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and fish.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Elegant Water Shrew is active day and night. It is semi-aquatic and has been observed walking along the water’s edge; it is especially good at swimming and diving into water.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Elegant Water Shrew has a wide distribution. There are no data regarding population size and trends or conservation threats.

Bibliography. Hoffmann (1987), Hutterer (1985), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), de Winton & Styan (1899).

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. Himalayas including E Nepal, NE India, and Bhutan, C & W China (Shaanxi, Sichuan, SE Tibet [= Xizang], and Yunnan), and N Myanmar.