Great Congo eyelash shrew
| Great Congo eyelash shrew | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Paracrocidura maxima | ||||||||||||
| Heim de Balsac , 1956 |
The greater Congo shrew ( Paracrocidura maxima ) occurs in tropical East Africa in the northern part of the western great African Rift Valley (Albert Rift Valley) on both sides of Lake Kiwu and on the eastern side of the Ruwenzori Mountains .
features
Large Congo eyelash shrews are large shrews with a very short and dense coat of blackish, gray-black or dark brownish-gray color. The hair is only 3 to 4 mm long. The head-trunk length is between 8 and 9.7 cm, the tail length between 3.7 and 4.8 cm. The head is big, the ears are small. When viewed from above, the skull looks like a box. The incisors have spade-like tips.
Way of life
The greater Congo-eyelash shrew lives in Afromontane forests at altitudes from 1600 to almost 2700 meters above sea level. One specimen was found in the Congolese lowlands at an altitude of 850 meters. It lives in primary and secondary forests, in swamps that are covered with Brillantaisia and on the edge of streams lined with Zypergräs .
It is relatively rare and only represents a small proportion of all shrew individuals in its range. The IUCN lists them as Near Threatened .
literature
- Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans : Paracrocidura maxima Schouteden's Large-Headed Shrew, pages 165–166 in Meredith Happold and David Happold (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume IV. Hedgehogs, Shrews and Bats. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2254-9
Web links
- Paracrocidura maxima in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Hutterer, R., 2008. Accessed on 29 11. 2016th