Mole shrews
| Mole shrews | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Surdisorex | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1906 |
The mole shrews ( Surdisorex ), also known as voles , are a genus of shrews (Soricidae) with three species that live exclusively in Kenya . They used to be a sub-genus of the African wood shrews ( Myosorex ).
Mole shrews are adapted to a partially subterranean way of life. The eyes and ears are small and mostly hidden in the fur, the tail is short and the front paws are noticeably large and strong. The long, rough fur is brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter, and the tail is also two-colored. In older animals, there may be a dark stripe on the back.
Molehill shrews only live in the mountains in Kenya. Their habitat are moist forests between 2800 and 3300 meters above sea level. They live in earthworks and dig tunnels, their food mainly consists of earthworms .
A distinction is made between three types, two of which are listed by the IUCN as endangered ( vulnerable ):
- The Aberdare vole ( Surdisorex norae ) lives in the Aberdare Range west of the Mount Kenya massif .
- The Mount Kenya vole ( Surdisorex polulus ) is only known of three individuals found on Mount Kenya.
- Surdisorex schlitteri is only known from a single specimencaughton the Kenyan east side of Mount Elgon .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. The 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. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kerbis Peterhans, J., Stanley, WT, Hutterer, R., Demos, TC & Agwanda, B. 2009. A new species of Surdisorex Thomas, 1906 (Mammalia, Soricidae) from western Kenya. ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2015 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. Bonn Zoological Contributions, Volume 56, Issue 3, Pages 175-183, Bonn, September 2009
Web links
- Endangerment level of the individual species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .