Crocidura tarfayensis, Vesmanis & Vesmanis, 1980
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870251 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A042-872E-FA2A-A946156DF692 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura tarfayensis |
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Saharan White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura tarfayensis View in CoL
French: Crocidure de Tarfaya / German: Sahara-WeilRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana del Sahara
Other common names: Saharan Shrew, Tarfaya Shrew
Taxonomy. Crocidura tarfayensis View in CoL 1. Vesma- nis & A. Vesmanis, 1980,
8 km south Tarfaya, 27°50’N, 12°30’W, Agadir Province, Morocco. GoogleMaps
Crocidura tarfayensis might be a descend- ant of the presumed continental ancestor of C. sicula and C. canariensis based on karyotypic analysis. Some other species from tropical Africa also have similar karyotypes, suggesting a close relationship between this group and African clades
(specifically C. luna and C. glassi ). Monotypic.
Distribution. SW Morocco, Western Sahara, and NW Mauritania. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 56-69 mm, tail 33-42 mm, ear 8-11 mm, hindfoot 11-14 mm; weight 67 g. The Saharan White-toothed Shrew is small to medium-sized, with long (4-6 mm long) and smooth pelage. Dorsal pelage is pale grayish brown, and ventral pelage is whitish, being strongly demarcated from dorsum. Hindfeet are pale dorsally. Tail is ¢.60% of head-body length, hairy, covered in long bristle hairs, and bicolored, being grayish brown above and lighter below. Third unicuspid is smaller than second and about the same size as the well-developed parastyle of upper premolar; M' and M? are short and broad. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36, FN = 56, and FNa = 52.
Habitat. Coastal stony and sandy areas with scarce vegetation, including bushy steppe with Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) , and stony plains with no vegetation. Recent records have recorded Saharan White-toothed Shrews in sand dunes along rivers with dense shrubberies of Tamarix (Tamaricaceae) , huge grass (Erianthus ravennae, Poaceae ), and flat bushes of Atriplex glauca ( Amaranthaceae ). In these areas,it rarely rains but is always humid, especially in winter. Populations of the Saharan White-toothed Shrew are small because of the extreme conditions in their preferred habitats.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Saharan White-toothed Shrew is considered rare (although possibly locally abundant) with a declining population as indicated by fresh owl pellets in which they are now less common than they used to be. Live specimens were not collected for many years, being recorded in owl pellets throughout their distribution; however,five specimens were recently trapped in the Guelmim region. Climate change (i.e. desertification) has made some areas ofits distribution uninhabitable. Phosphate mines and possibly overgrazing might have significant effects on populations of the Saharan White-toothed Shrew, but additional research is needed to verify this.
Bibliography. Aulagnier (2008, 2013a), Aulagnier & Hermas (1989), Aulagnier & Thévenot (1986), Vesmanis & Vesmanis (1980), Vogel et al. (2006).
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.
