Suncus ater, Medway, 1965

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 : 464

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870004

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A06D-8701-FF25-ADB71049F3AD

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Suncus ater
status

 

196. View Plate 19: Soricidae

Black Shrew

Suncus ater View in CoL

French: Pachyure noire / German: Kinabalu-Moschusspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana negra

Taxonomy. Suncus ater Medway, 1965 View in CoL ,

Lumu-Lumu , 5500 ft. (= 1676 m), Gunung (= Mt.) Kinabalu , Sabah, Malaysia.

Prior to description of S. ater by Lord Med- way, it was treated under Crocidura foetida by G. M. Allen and H. J. Coolidge in 1940. Phylogenetic relationship is unknown. Additional studies are needed to elucidate its nearest relative and position within Suncus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the holotype collected on Mt TEN Borneo; it might occur more widely in the Bornean Highlands. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 75 mm, tail 57 mm, ear 8 mm, hindfoot 12 mm (holotype). No specific data are available for body weight. The Black Shrew is uniformly blackish brown dorsally, slightly darker than the Bornean White-toothed Shrew (Crocudura foetida ) from the same locality. Underparts are scarcely paler. Scattered long hairs on tail (76% of head-body length) are restricted to basal 1 cm oftail and dark not pale. Body size of the Black Shrew is comparable with the Bornean White-toothed Shrew, but differences in skull dimensions and an extra unicuspid in upper tooth row are distinctive. Fifth tooth is the small unicuspid, characteristic of the genus Suncus . Condylo-basal length is 21-3 mm.

Habitat. Montane forest at an elevation of ¢.1676 m (holotype).

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 only known location of the Black Shrew was in Kinabalu Park. Additional studies are needed to understand its distribution, abundance, natural history, and threats.

Bibliography. Allen & Coolidge (1940), Chiozza (2016a), Hutterer (2005b), Medway (1965, 1977), Payne et al. (1985), Phillipps & Phillipps (2016).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Soricomorpha

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Suncus

Loc

Suncus ater

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson 2018
2018
Loc

Suncus ater

Medway 1965
1965
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