Sorex salvini, Merriam, 1897
|
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
|
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869666 |
|
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A026-874B-FAFA-A0D316D0FA63 |
|
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
|
scientific name |
Sorex salvini |
| status |
|
Salvin’s Shrew
French: Musaraigne de Salvin / German: Salvini-Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Salvin
Taxonomy. Sorex salvini Merriam, 1897 ,
“ Calel , Totonicapan [sic], Guatemala (alt., 10200 ft. = 3100 meters).”
Sorex salvini has generally been included in S. saussurei until recently. In 2010, genetic studies showed that individuals of S. saussurei (now S. salvini ) clustered with specimens of S. veraecrucis (now S. cristobalensis), indicating that S. saussurei was in need of revision. Two approaches were taken; the first was to lump S. veraecrucis with those populations of S. saussurei and call the species S. salvini because it had priority, but this would still have caused S. veraecrucis to be paraphyletic because specimens representing true S. veraecrucis clustered in a whole different subgenus. In 2017, morphological data supported splitting S. salvini from S. saussurei and S. cristobalensis from S. veraecrucis , which is followed here. The salvini group includes S. cristobalensis, S. mecarthyi, S. salvin, S. sclateri , and S. stizodon and is closest to the saussurei group, both of which are included in an unnamed subgenus within Sorex . Monotypic.
Distribution. Highlands of Huehuetenango, Quetzaltenango, Totonicapan, and Alta Verapaz departments, W & C Guatemala. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 68 mm, tail 45 mm, ear 7 mm, hindfoot 14 mm; weight 7 g. Salvin’s Shrew is medium-sized. Dorsum is grayish brown (some specimens are more chocolate brown), and venter is about the same color. Tail is 66% of head-body length and slightly bicolored, being grayish brown above and slightly lighter below. Salvin’s Shrew has a short mandible, long tooth row, and shorter rostrum compared with the San Cristobal Shrew (S. cristobalensis) and McCarthy’s Shrew (S. mccarthyi). There are five unicuspids, first and second are large, third is barely taller than or sometimes equal in size to fourth, and fifth is minute. Teeth are pigmented dark red.
Habitat. Broad-leaved and coniferous cloud forests at elevations of 2040-2950 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Salvin’s Shrew seems to have a relatively fragmented highland distribution that might be threatened by deforestation in the long run. Not much is known about Salvin’s Shrew, and additional research is needed.
Bibliography. Esteva et al. (2010), Matson & Ordénez-Garza (2017), Woodman et al. (2012).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
