Episoriculus leucops (Horsfield, 1855)

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 : 450

156.

Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew

Episoriculus leucops

French: Musaraigne du Népal / German: Langschwanz-Braunzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de dientes marrones de cola larga

Taxonomy. Sorex leucops Horsfield, 1855 ,

Nepal.

Episoriculus leucops used to include E. bai- ley: as a subspecies, whichis recognized as distinct species. Species boundary of these two taxa still needs to be tested. Population from south-western China was assigned to baileyi previously but is identified as E. leucops based on morphological and molecular evidence. Monotypic.

Distribution. SW China (S Tibet [= Xizang| and W Yunnan) and Nepal; it might occur in SW Sichuan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 53-76 mm, tail 58-82-5 mm, hindfoot 12-17 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 19-1-20 mm, and tooth rows are 8-:2-8-6 mm. The Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew is the largest species of Episoriculus . Its entire body is covered with uniform dark brown hair. Tail length is similar to head-body length. Braincase is dome-shaped and high. It is very similar to Bailey’s Brown-toothed Shrew ( E. baileyi ), with smaller upper incisors and smaller tympanic ring. It has four upper unicuspids. First upper unicuspid is high and obviously higher than talon (posterior cusp) of I'.

Habitat. Broad-leaved evergreen forests, rhododendron forests, and moist conifer forest at elevations of 1800-3500 m.

Food and Feeding. The Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew is insectivorous. It was reported to eat earthworms.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Most Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrews were trapped at night. Based on its external morphology, it was inferred to be semi-fossorial and semi-arboreal, but this has not been confirmed.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Distribution of the Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew is large, and specimens have been recorded from many conservation areas. Overall population is unlikely to be declining.

Bibliography. Hoffmann (1985), Motokawa & Lin Liangkong (2005).

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. SW China (S Tibet [= Xizang| and W Yunnan) and Nepal; it might occur in SW Sichuan.