Small Congo shrew

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Small Congo shrew
Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Insect eater (Eulipotyphla)
Family : Shrews (Soricidae)
Subfamily : Myosoricinae
Genre : Congo shrews ( Congosorex )
Type : Small Congo shrew
Scientific name
Congosorex verschyeni
Hutterer , Barrière & Colyn , 2001
Distribution area of ​​the Congo lesser shrew

The small Congo shrew ( Congosorex veryeni ) is a species of shrew that lives in central Africa . The known distribution area is west of the Congo left arch and the southward lower reaches of the Ubangi in the north of the Republic of the Congo , in the southeastern tip of Cameroon and in the southwest of the Central African Republic . Occurrences in eastern Gabon are possible, but have not yet been confirmed. The species seems to be absent south of the Congo and east of the Ubangi lower reaches. The art epithet honors the Belgian mammalogen Walter Verheyen .

features

Small Congo shrews are very small, stocky animals with a very short tail. The head-trunk length is between 5.3 and 9.5 cm, the tail length between 1.9 and 2.6 cm. The mean weight is seven grams. The animals are covered with a single-colored dark brown fur, the hair of which is 5 mm long on the back and 3 mm long on the belly. Vibrissas are only sparsely present, the longest are 1.2 cm long. The head is relatively long; the distance from the nose to the back of the ears makes up a third of the length of the head and torso. The nose and lips are flesh-colored. The ears are small and hairy. The tiny eyes are hidden in the fur. The forefeet is medium in size, the top is covered with large scales. The hind feet are short, have short claws and here too the upper side is covered by large scales. There are eleven short, delicate vertebrae in the short tail. He is light-colored and has short, black hair along his entire length.

Way of life

Little is known about the way of life of these shrews. The short legs, the small eyes and ears indicate a secret life in the ground or under the leafy layer, where it is likely to be separated from invertebrates e.g. B. feed on earthworms. Their habitat consists of tropical, primary or secondary rainforests and an adjacent wet savannah, which is interspersed with rainforest areas like a mosaic.

The IUCN lists them as Least Concern .

literature

  • Patrick Barrière & Rainer Hutterer : Congosorex veryeni Lesser Congo Shrew, page 53 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

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