Crocidurinae
| Crocidurinae | ||||||||||||
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Garden shrew ( Crocidura suaveolens ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Crocidurinae | ||||||||||||
| Milne-Edwards , 1872 |
The Crocidurinae , like the largest genus also known as white tooth or eyelash shrews , are a subfamily of the shrews (Soricidae) within the insect eater (Eulipotyphla). The taxon contains about 200 species, which are divided into 9 genera .
features
Like all shrews, the Crocidurinae are small mammals with a body length of less than 15 centimeters with a tail that is usually no more than 10 centimeters long. Well-known species are the Etruscan shrew ( S. etruscus ), which, together with the pig- nosed bat , is considered the smallest mammal, and the musk shrew ( S. murinus ), which is one of the largest shrews with a body length of almost 15 centimeters.
The Crocidurinae or white-toothed shrews are distinguished from the other subfamilies of the shrews primarily by the specific structure of the jaws , in which the joint surfaces of the lower jaw are usually close together and often merge on the lip side (labial). The mental foramen , a bone opening on the outside of the horizontal branch of the lower jaw, lies behind the anterior root of molar M1 (while in the Soricinae it lies in front of this), and the premolar P4 is specific in its shape. In contrast to most Soricinae, the white-toothed shrews have no red pigment on the tooth roots.
distribution
The Crocidurinae live with almost 200 species in Eurasia , Southeast Asia and Africa ; in America as well as in Australia they are absent.
Way of life
The Crocidurinae correspond in their way of life to the typical shrews. They usually live on the ground either in the litter or in the upper soil layers and feed mainly on invertebrates such as insects, spiders, earthworms or snails.
Systematics
In addition to the Soricinae (also red- toothed shrews ) and the Myosoricinae, the white- toothed shrews are one of the three subfamilies of the shrews within the insect-eater. The subfamily was first scientifically described by Henri Milne-Edwards in 1872 . The genera Congosorex , Myosorex and Surdisorex were originally included in the Crocidurinae. Today they form the Myosoricinae.
Within the Crocidurinae, a distinction is made between around 200 species, which are assigned to ten genera. The vast majority of species are the (actual) white-toothed shrews ( Crocidura ) with around 170 species. The genera of the Crocidurinae are:
- The (actual) white-toothed shrews ( Crocidura ), which are distributed with around 170 species mainly in Africa and Southeast Asia.
- The pied desert shrew ( Diplomesodon pulchellum ) lives in southern Russia and Central Asia
- The Kelaart long-clawed shrew ( Feroculus feroculus ) in Sri Lanka
- Palawanosorex muscorum from the Philippine island of Palawan
- The Congo eyelash shrews ( Paracrocidura ) with three species in central Africa
- The Ruwenzori shrew ( Ruwenzorisorex suncoides ) is only endemic to the Ruwenzori Mountains in Africa
- The armored shrews ( Scutisorex ) in Central Africa
- The Pearson's long-clawed shrew ( Solisorex pearsoni ) in Sri Lanka
- The thick-tailed shrews ( Suncus ) with around 15 species in southern Europe, Africa and southern and south-eastern Asia
- The forest musk shrews ( Sylvisorex ) with 14 species in central and southern Africa
supporting documents
- ^ Robert S. Hoffmann, Darrin Lunde: Soricinae. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 303-304.
- ↑ a b c d Soricinae ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: 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 .
- ↑ Rainer Hutterer et al. A new genus and species of shrew (Mammalia: Soricidae) from Palawan Island, Philippines. Journal of Mammalogy, May 8, 2018; doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyy041
