Notiosorex villai, Carraway & Timm, 2000

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 : 449

151.

Villa’s Gray Shrew

Notiosorex villai

French: Musaraigne de Villa / German: Villa-Wiistenspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana gris de Villa

Other common names: Villa's Shrew

Taxonomy. Notiosorex villai Carraway & Timm, 2000 ,

“ Jaumave, Tamaulipas , Mexico, 2400 ft. [= 732 m].”

Notiosorex villai was previously included in N. crawfordi but was described as a distinct species based primarily on morphometrics. Distributional limits of all species of Notiosorex are still somewhat unknown; additional sampling is needed. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from three localities in SW Tamaulipas (NE Mexico); it

potentially occurs in a wider distribution, but additional studies are needed.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 59-62 mm, tail 28-31 mm, ear 7-9 mm, hindfoot 11-11-5 mm; weight 5-6-3 g. Villa’s Gray Shrew is small and externally very similar to other species of Notiosorex . Dorsum is light grayish brown, and venteris white or pale gray. Feet are broad, with relatively short claws. Tail is ¢.33% of head-body length, unicolored dark grayish brown, and covered with very short hairs. Ears are long and conspicuous, being the same color as dorsal pelage externally and pinkish internally; eyes are small but large compared with other shrews; and snout is pink with dark line on ridge extending to tip of rostrum. Females have three inguinal mammae. There is no prominent ridge on lateral side of cranium as in other species of Notiosorex ; paroccipital processes lie against exoccipitals; coronoid processes are slender relative to their height (as in the Desert Gray Shrew, N. crawfordi ); and zygomatic plate is narrower than in the Large-eared Gray Shrew (NN. evotis ) and the Desert Gray Shrew. There are three unicuspids, and teeth are entirely white with no pigmentation, as in all species of Notiosorex .

Habitat. Pine-oak forests, tropical forests, and riparian forests at elevations of 580-1340 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Two lactating Villa’s Gray Shrews were captured in July 1953.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Villa's Gray Shrew is known from only three localities in two isolated mountain valleys and from relatively few specimens. It is most threatened by overgrazing and agricultural expansion; it might be found in El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in Tamaulipas, but this is uncertain.

Bibliography. Alvarez (1963), Baker et al. (2003), Carraway (2007, 2014f), Carraway & Timm (2000), Castro-Arellano, Timm et al. (2008).

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 only from three localities in SW Tamaulipas (NE Mexico); it potentially occurs in a wider distribution, but additional studies are needed.