Episoriculus macrurus (Blanford, 1888)

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

154.

Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew

Episoriculus macrurus

French: Musaraigne de Blanford / German: Kleine Braunzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de dientes marrones arbérea

Other common names: Long-tailed Mountain Shrew

Taxonomy. Soriculus macrurus Blanford, 1888 ,

Darjeeling, India.

Episoriculus macrurus was once placed in E. leucops but has now been supported as a valid species by several morphological, genetic, and karyotypic studies. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

E.m.macrurusBlanford,1888—SWChina(STibet[=Xizang]),NNepal,andNEIndia(DarjeelingdistrictinWestBengalandSikkim).

E. m. irene Thomas, 1911 — SW China (SE Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan), adjacent NE India, N Myanmar, and NW Vietnam.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 48-73 mm, tail 76-101 mm, hindfoot 13-5-18 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 16-8—18-5 mm, and tooth rows are 7-1-7-7 mm. The Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew is small, with tail usually ¢.50% of head-body length. Body and limbs are slender. Dorsum is yellowish gray, and venter is dirty white. Braincase is very dome-shaped. Rostrum is short and shorter than in other species of Episoriculus . Upper unicuspids are quadrangle and wider than longer. First unicuspid is high and obviously higher than talon (posterior cusp) of upper incisor.

Habitat. Various montane habitats including broad-leaved, conifer, bamboo, and rhododendron forests. The Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew can be sympatric with the Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew ( E. leucops ) and Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew ( E. caudatus ).

Food and Feeding. The Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew is insectivorous. Captive individuals show great interest in flying insects such as moths.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew is a nocturnal species. It is semiarboreal, good at running, and adapted to climbing.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew has a broad distribution in southern Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains. Its overall population is probably large.

Bibliography. Abramovet al. (2013), He et al. (2010), 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)

Subspecies and Distribution. E.m.macrurusBlanford,1888—SWChina(STibet[=Xizang]),NNepal,andNEIndia(DarjeelingdistrictinWestBengalandSikkim). E. m. irene Thomas, 1911 — SW China (SE Tibet, Sichuan, and Yunnan), adjacent NE India, N Myanmar, and NW Vietnam.