Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew
| Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew | ||||||||||||
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| Episoriculus fumidus | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1913) |
The Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew ( Episoriculus fumidus ) is a species of shrew from the genus Episoriculus . It is endemic to the island of Taiwan .
features
With a head-to-trunk length of 5.3 to 7.1 centimeters, the Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew is one of the medium-sized shrew species. The tail reaches a length of 3.7 to 5.2 centimeters and the hind foot from 1.1 to 1.5 centimeters. The back color is brown with a sharp separation from the gray colored belly. The tail is comparatively short compared to other species with a length of less than half the length of the head and torso. It is dark on the top and lighter on the underside.
The skull has a maximum length of 18 to 19 millimeters. The teeth are designed in a typical manner, with the shape of the fourth premolar and the two molars in particular not being as strongly concave as in the related species. The genome consists of a diploid chromosome set of 2n = 64 chromosomes.
distribution
The Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew is endemic to the island of Taiwan , where the species has been detected in the high altitudes of the Alishan National Scenic Area up to heights of 2,438 meters. In both Alishan and Tsuifeng (2300 meters) she lives sympathetically with Chodsigoa sodalis .
Way of life
The preferred habitat of the Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew is on densely overgrown forest floors in both deciduous and coniferous forests as well as bushes in the subalpine highlands in the high mountains of Taiwan. The animals are active both during the day and at night.
The breeding season falls in the dry season on Taiwan from May to June. The females give birth to 2 to 4 young animals per litter, the average is 3.4. It is not known if there will be another breeding season and litters.
Systematics
The Taiwanese brown-tooth shrew is classified as a separate species within the brown-tooth shrew ( Episoriculus ), which consists of four species. The first scientific description comes from Oldfield Thomas from 1913. The species was originally considered a subspecies of the Hodgson's brown tooth shrew ( Episoriculus caudatus ), which occurs on the Asian mainland, but was later described as a separate species. It contained the small Taiwan shrew ( Chodsigoa sodalis ) as a subspecies, which is now assigned to the genus Chodsigoa as a separate species .
Apart from the nominate form, no further subspecies are distinguished within the species .
Threat and protection
The species is not endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) due to the high assumed population numbers and the occurrence in at least one protected area, the Yushan National Park , despite the relatively small distribution area on the island of Taiwan (" least concern ”). Threats to the species are unknown and a significant decline in populations is not assumed.
literature
- Robert S. Hoffmann, Darrin Lunde: Taiwanese Red-Toothed Shrew. 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. 310-311.
Web links
- Episoriculus fumidus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Listed by: Andrew T. Smith , CH Johnson, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
supporting documents
- ^ A b c d Robert S. Hoffmann, Darrin Lunde: Taiwanese Red-Toothed Shrew. 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. 310-311.
- ↑ a b c d e Episoriculus fumidus ( Memento of the original from November 10, 2013 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 .
- ↑ a b c d Episoriculus fumidus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Listed by: Andrew T. Smith , CH Johnson, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
