African wood shrews
| African wood shrews | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Africa wood shrew ( Myosorex varius ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Myosorex | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1838 |
The African wood shrews ( Myosorex ) are a genus of shrews with around 15 species that live in central and southern Africa .
General
The fur of these shrews is soft and silky, its coloration varies from yellow-brown to gray to black and gives a speckled impression. With a head body length of 60 to 110 millimeters and a weight of up to 23 grams, they are among the smaller members of their family.
The distribution area of the African wood shrews extends from Cameroon and Uganda to South Africa . Their habitat are moist forest and bush regions.
These animals can be diurnal as well as nocturnal. They build burrows that they line with grass and live solitary outside of the mating season. Their diet consists of insects, but also small mammals and birds.
Several species are considered endangered due to the destruction of their habitat. The IUCN lists two species, M. eisentrauti and M. rumpii, as " critically endangered ".
The species
The genus of the African wood shrews comprises 16 species. Congosorex and the mole shrews ( Surdisorex ), which were previously listed as sub-genera, are now considered separate genera.
- Myosorex babaulti is only known from a few localities around Lake Kivu and is considered endangered.
- Myosorex blarina only inhabits the Ruwenzori Mountains .
- Myosorex cafer is distributed from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to South Africa.
- Myosorex eisentrauti isendemicto the island of Bioko and is considered to be critically endangered.
- Myosorex geata only lives in southwestern Tanzania .
- Myosorex kabogoensis
- Myosorex kihaulei was not scientifically described until 2000 and is restricted to southern Tanzania.
- Myosorex longicaudatus lives in a small area near the South African city of Knysna .
- Myosorex meesteri
- Myosorex okuensis lives in a small area in Cameroon and is considered threatened.
- Myosorex rumpii is only known from a single specimen discovered in Cameroon. The species is considered to be critically endangered.
- Myosorex schalleri is also only known from one specimen from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The degree of endangerment of this species is not known.
- Myosorex sclateri lives in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal .
- Myosorex tenuis is restricted to the north of South Africa. The taxonomic status of this species is not precisely known.
- Myosorex varius lives in southern Africa and is the best researched species of this genus.
- Myosorex zinki isendemicto the regions around Kilimanjaro and is considered endangered.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kerbis Peterhans, JC; Huhndorf, MH; Plumptre, AJ; Hutterer, R .; Kaleme, P .; Ndara, B. (2013). Mammals, other than bats, from the Misotshi-Kabogo highlands (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), with the description of two new species (Mammalia: Soricidae). Bonn Zoological Bulletin. 62 (2): 203-219.
- ↑ Taylor, PJ; Kearney, TC; Kerbis Peterhans, JC; Baxter, RM; Willows-Munro, S. (2013). Cryptic diversity in forest shrews of the genus Myosorex from southern Africa, with the description of a new species and comments on Myosorex tenuis . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 169 (4): 881-902. doi: 10.1111 / zoj.12083
Web links
- Endangerment level of the individual species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .