Myosorex cafer (Sundevall, 1846)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870541 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A0BC-87D1-FA21-A339109FFC8B |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Myosorex cafer |
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Dark-footed Mouse Shrew
French: Musaraigne a pattes sombres / German: Dunkelful 3-Mausspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana ratén de pies OScuros
Other common names: Dark-footed Forest Shrew
Taxonomy. Sorex cafer Sundevall, 1846 ,
“E Caffraria interiore et Port-Natal” (= Durban , KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa).
Sister to M. sclateri , based on genetic stud- ies, although further sampling is needed to confirm the position within Myosorex . M. cafer may represent several distinct species, as there is considerable variation in chromosome number in the central portion of the species’ range. Monotypic.
Distribution. EC Zimbabwe, WC Mozambique, E South Africa, and Swaziland. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 78-105 mm, tail 36-51 mm, ear 9-12 mm, hindfoot 13-16 mm; weight 9-17 g. The Dark-footed Mouse Shrew is a medium-sized shrew. Dorsal pelage is dark brown with a buffy tinge, individual hairs with slaty gray base, offwhite to brown subterminal band, and dark brown to black tip; ventral pelage is buffy brown. Feet are dark brown. Tail is medium in length (c.50% of head-body length), well furred with dense bristle hairs, and bicolored with a dark brown to black above and dark brown below. Females have six inguinal nipples. There are four unicuspids. Karyotype is 2n = 38 or 40.
Habitat. Primarily found in moist montane and coastal forest; also occurs in montane grasslands. Present at elevations up to 2000 m.
Food and Feeding. Diet includes a variety of invertebrates, primarily spiders, earthworms, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, termites, isopods, and centipedes. Also takes small amounts of seeds and green vegetation.
Breeding. Reproductive activity seems to occur in the wet season, October—April. Litter size in Zimbabwe is 2—4 young (average 3); in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 2-5 young (average 3-5).
Activity patterns. Dark-footed Mouse Shrews are primarily nocturnal, although they are active during the day at lower frequencies, being more diurnally active than the South African Mouse Shrew (C. varius ). In captivity, they have been observed building saucer-shaped nests.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Dark-footed Mouse Shrews are mildly aggressive toward conspecifics and will make short squeaks when they encounter unknown individuals. They scent-mark their territory using their lateral glands and strongly scented fecal piles. Densities have been recorded from 10-30 ind/ha regularly.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. There do not seem to be any major threats currently affecting the Dark-footed Mouse Shrew, although habitat degradation may be a concern in some regions.
Bibliography. Baxter & Dippenaar (2013f), Baxter, Dippenaar & Meester (1981), Baxter, Goulden & Meester (1979b), Cassola (2016be), Churchfield (1985b), Meester (1958), Monadjem (1997), Taylor et al. (2013), Willows-Munro & Matthee (2009), Woodman & Stabile (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.
