Paracrocidura maxima, Heim de Balsac, 1959
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https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870070 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A064-8708-FFF0-A18C1A91FB84 |
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Felipe |
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scientific name |
Paracrocidura maxima |
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Greater Large-headed Shrew
Paracrocidura maxima View in CoL
French: Crocidure a téte large / German: GroflRe GroRRkopfspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de cabeza grande mayor
Other common names: Greater Shrew
Taxonomy. Paracrocidura maxima Heim de Balsac, 1959 View in CoL ,
Tshibati , DR Congo.
Paracrocidura seems to be nested in Crocidura , although its exact relationship to species in this large genus is uncertain, indicating that either Paracrocidura should be included in Crocidura or they should remain separate. At least P. schoutedeni seems to be closest to a clade containing Crocidura goliath and C. batesi , but larger studies with more species are needed. Monotypic.
Distribution. EC DR Congo, SW Uganda, W Rwanda, and NW Burundi. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 80-97 mm, tail 37-48 mm, ear 4-8 mm, hindfoot 14— 16 mm; weight 16-21 g. The Greater Large-headed Shrew is large, with dense and very
short pelage and large head with small ears. Dorsum and venter are blackish gray to dark grayish brown. Tail is ¢.53% of head-body length, very fat, and covered by long bristle hairs. Females have two inguinal mammae. Skull has box-shaped braincase in dorsal view, and incisors are spade-like at tips. They have well-developed temporalis muscles. There are three unicuspids. Dental formula for all species of Paracrocidura is 13/2, C1/0,P 1/1, M3/3 (2) =28.
Habitat. Primarily montane primary and secondary forests (recorded once in lowland rainforest) at elevations of 1600-2680 m (one record at 850 m).
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. A captive Greater Large-headed Shrew gave birth to one young in April. It weighed 1-6 g and was 25 mm in length. Litter size appears to be small.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Greater Large-headed Shrew seems to be rare because only c.19 specimens are currently known, although it might be locally common. Some deforestation has already occurred in lowlands around where it occurs, and it seems to be threatened by habitat loss associated with logging and conversion of land to agriculture. Greater Large-headed Shrews are found in Bwindi-Impenetrable Forest National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and Kibira National Park.
Bibliography. Hutterer (1986d), Hutterer & Kerbis Peterhans (2008), Hutterer, Van der Straeten & Verheyen (1987), Kasangaki et al. (2003), Kerbis Peterhans (2013a), Quérouil et al. (2001).
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.
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Paracrocidura maxima
| Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson 2018 |
Paracrocidura maxima
| Heim de Balsac 1959 |