Palawan shrew
| Palawan shrew | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Palawanosorex | ||||||||||||
| Hutterer , Balete , Giarla , Heaney , Esselstyn , 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Palawanosorex muscorum | ||||||||||||
| Hutterer, Balete, Giarla, Heaney, Esselstyn, 2018 |
The Palawan shrew ( Palawanosorex muscorum ) is a species of shrew endemic to the Philippine island of Palawan . The scientific description of the species and the monotypic genus were published in May 2018. All type specimens examined for the first description were caught on Mount Mantalinganhan at altitudes of 1550 to 1950 meters.
features
The Palawan shrew is a medium-sized species of shrew with a head-to-trunk length of 8.4 to 9.9 cm, a 5.3 to 6.8 cm long tail and a weight of 16 to 24 g. The animals are colored slate gray to black. The hair on the back is 8 mm long, the belly hair is about 3.2 mm long. The tail is thickly covered with short black hair. Long bristles, like those found on the tail of many other shrew species, are missing. Front and hind paws are relatively wide and have long claws (3 mm and 2.5 mm long). The eyes are about 1 mm in diameter. The skin around the eyes is light. The nasal mirror is smooth and divided into two by a notch. The snout is light and carries numerous vibrissae , the longest of which are 2.8 cm long. The skull is slim and pointed. Its profile is relatively flat. Females have three pairs of nipples. The teeth are weak. There are a total of 30 teeth in the jaws.
The Palawan shrew is distinguished from all other Filipino shrew species by its long black fur, its tail covered with short black hair, and the long claws on its fore and hind feet. The Palawan shrew ( Crocidura palawanensis ) is gray and short-haired, Crocidura batakorum also has shorter hair and is dark brown on the back and medium gray on the belly and the musk shrew ( Suncus murinus ) is yellowish to gray-brown in color.
habitat
The Palawan shrew is so far only known from Mount Mantalinganhan in the southwest of the Philippine island of Palawan and is relatively common there at altitudes of 1550 to 1950 meters. At 1550 meters above sea level, a mountain rainforest with 7 to 10 meter high trees forms the habitat of the species. The most common tree genera are Callophylum , warthog ( Dacrycarpus ), Leptospermum , stone slices ( Podocarpus ), oaks ( Quercus ) and Tristaniopsis with mosses, ferns, lichens and few climbing plants as epiphytes . In the shrub layer there are medinilla ( Medinilla ), pointed flowers ( Ardizia ), bamboo , dragon trees ( Dracaena ) and rhododendrons and sedges , ferns, orchids and pitcher plants ( Nepenthes ) form the herb layer . The foliage layer is continuous and moderately thick. Large parts of the forest floor and the tree trunks up to a height of 2 meters are mossy. At 1,750 meters above sea level, the vegetation is similar but denser, the trees are lower and mosses are more common. At a height of 1950 meters, most of the trees, especially oaks and sygygium species, are only 2 to 3 meters high and only a few warts and callophylums can reach a height of up to 5 meters in protected locations. Crushing shrubs ( Psychotria ), rhododendrons and bamboo are common. Almost the entire forest floor, trunks and large branches are covered with moss. Ferns and orchids are common on the forest floor.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Rainer Hutterer, Danilo S Balete, Thomas C Giarla, Lawrence R Heaney, Jacob A Esselstyn. A new genus and species of shrew (Mammalia: Soricidae) from Palawan Island, Philippines. Journal of Mammalogy, May 8, 2018; doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyy041