Blarinella quadraticauda (Milne-Edwards, 1872)

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 : 446

141.

Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew

Blarinella quadraticauda

French: Musaraigne de Moupin / German: Sichuan-Kurzschwanzspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafna colicorta de Sichuan

Other common names: Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew, Chinese Short-tailed Shrew, Northern Short-tailed Shrew

Taxonomy. Sorex quadraticauda Milne-Ed- wards, 1872 ,

“ Moupin [= Baoxing ], Thibet oriental ,” Sichuan, western China.

Blarinella quadraticauda is the type spe- cies of the genus that was established in 1911. Blarinella used to include two subspecies, griselda and wardi , which are now recognized as full species. Taxonomy of the genusis problematic because animals assigned to the genus were found in two highly divergent evolutionary lineages,

indicating existence of cryptic species/genus. Relationship between B. quadraticauda and B. griselda is also debated, and it is likely than more than one species is masquerading as B. gniselda. Distributional limits and whether it is sympatrically distributed with B. griselda is unclear; distribution might be limited to the west of the Min River. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known from W Sichuan Mts in SW China.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 65-81 mm, tail 40-60 mm, hindfoot 13-16 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 21-21-7 mm, and tooth rows are 8-4-8-9 mm. The Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew is the largest species of Blarinella and has the longesttail. Dorsal and ventral fur are uniform dark brown,

without any gray-brown highlight. Tail and dorsal surfaces offeet are dark as or darker than that of dorsal pelage. Claws are large, and forefeet are inconspicuously larger than hindfeet. Skull is robust, and braincase is high. Most teeth are heavily pigmented, which is most obvious on upper incisors. Apex of upper incisor is robust and darkbrown or nearly black. It has five upper unicuspids, second upper unicuspid is subequal to first and is conspicuously larger than third. There are three upper unicuspids visible in lateral view in most specimens. Dental formula for all species of Blarinella is 13/1, C1/1,P3/1,M 3/3 (2) =32.

Habitat. Damp broad-leaved and conifer forests at elevations of 1600-3500 m.

Food and Feeding. The Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew is insectivorous.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew is semi-fossorial and a good digger. Most individuals were captured at night.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. Extent and quality of its forest habitat are probably declining. Major threats include deforestation due to logging, agriculture, and urban development. The Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew is present in many conservation areas, and overall population is probably not rapidly declining.

Bibliography. Bannikova etal. (2017), Chen Shunde et al. (2012), Jiang Xuelong et al. (2003), Thomas (1911¢).

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. Known from W Sichuan Mts in SW China.