Crocidura stenocephala, Heim de Balsac, 1979
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870472 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A0A3-87CF-FF2A-AD131873FA8B |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura stenocephala |
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Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew
Crocidura stenocephala View in CoL
French: Crocidure du Kahuzi / German: Kahuzi-WeiRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Kahuzi
Other common names: Kahuzi Swamp Shrew, Narrow-headed Shrew
Taxonomy. Crocidura stenocephala Heim de Balsac, 1979 View in CoL ,
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park , eastern DR Congo.
Crocidura stenocephala was considered a subspecies of C. lLttoralis, but it was re- garded as a distinct species by R. Hutterer in 1982 and 2005. Hutterer in 1982 and F. Dieterlen and H. Heim de Balsac in 1979 listed it in the C. monax-C. littoralis-C. maurisca group. Itis one of three Albertine Rift Valley endemics ( C. kivuana , C. stenocepha-
la and C. lanosa ). According to W. T. Stanley and colleagues in 2015, C. stenocephala is not related to the C. monax complex, but instead, it is a relative of C. oritis/ C. littoralis and C. latona . Monotypic.
Distribution. Restricted to three montane swamps (2100-2300 m) in E DR Congo (Mt Kahuzi) and high-elevation swamps in SW Uganda (Echuya Forest, Ngoto Swamp, Ruhija, Mubwindi Swamp, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park) at 1500-2380 m. Extensive surveys in swamps in Burundi and Rwenzori Mts have notyielded any specimens. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 82-106 mm,tail 61-81 mm, ear 5-11 mm, hindfoot 15 20 mm; weight 16-35 g. Condylo-incisive length is 22:9-24-4 mm. The Kahuzi Whitetoothed Swamp Shrew is large and most similar to the Naked-tailed White-toothed Shrew (C. lttoralis) and the Manenguba White-toothed Shrew ( C. manengubae ), with dark coloration, naked tail, extended forehead, narrow rostrum, and graceful teeth. Dorsal pelage of the Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew is blackish, superficially brownish with silvery gray hair bases and brown tips. Ventral pelage is brownish gray, sometimes with olive tinge, paler than upperparts with pale gray-based hairs and pale brownish tips. Undersurface of head and neck are ash-gray. Ears are covered with short hairs. Forefeet are pale brown, and hindfeet are dark brown. Tail is ¢.77% of headbody length, dark brown above, and paler below. The Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew appears naked butis covered by inconspicuous bristles (pilosity less than 20%). Skull is similar to that of the Naked-tailed White-toothed Shrew but clearly narrower and cutting edge of mandibular incisors has two denticles. It shares this feature with the Manenguba White-toothed Shrew and the Gracile White-toothed Shrew ( C. maurisca ).
Habitat. Mostly montane swamps, dominated by sedges ( Cyperus latifolius, Cyperaceae ) in Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, DR Congo. Water in swampsis slightly above ground level but covered by thick layer of floating plants that provides shelter and nesting sites for the Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew. It has recorded in other moist habitats and small swamps. It is partly sympatric with the Kiva White-toothed Shrew ( C. kivuana ) in some swamps in Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and the Gracile White-toothed Shrew in Uganda. In Uganda, the Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew was located at
Mubwindi (2070 m) in 2m high rush/sedge swamp vegetation with Lobelia (Campanulaceae) , closely surrounded by steep forest-covered hills at 2070 m. At Ngoto Swamp (1500 m), it was found in Cyperus papyrus ( Cyperaceae ) swamps, surrounded by secondary vegetation rather than mature montane forest.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. The Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew nests in layers of floating plants. One of 13 pregnant females was found during the wet season (March). Sex ratio of captures was 23 males: 13 females in Kahuzi-Biéga.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew and the Kivu White-toothed Shrew, another swamp dweller in this region, are often the most common shrews in some swamps in eastern DR Congo. In one swamp, there were 14 Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrews, one Climbing Shrew ( Suncus megalurus), and one Grant's Forest Shrew (S. granti ) but no Kivu White-toothed Shrews. In another swamp, there were 19 Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrews, 22 Kivu Whitetoothed Shrews, and seven individuals of four other species of shrews. There appear to be no special morphological adaptationsfor living in swamps. It is assumed that these shrews must accommodate to a very moist habitat and changing water levels. Swamps are frequently flooded, and water levels are 20-30 cm.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Kahuzi White-toothed Swamp Shrew occurs in less than 5000 km? all individuals are in fewer than five locations, and there is continuing decline in extent and quality of its swamp habitat in Echuya Forest, Uganda. It occurs in Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. There is a need to protect suitable areas of habitat, most especially in places such as Echuya Forest where habitat degradation is ongoing. Additional studies are needed on its distribution and natural history.
Bibliography. Dieterlen (2013c), Dieterlen & Heim de Balsac (1979), Hutterer (1982, 2005b), Kasangaki et al. (2003), Kerbis Peterhans, Dieterlen & Hutterer (2008), Nicoll & Rathbun (1990), Thorn et al. (2009), Stanley et al. (2015).
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.
