Crocidura ramona Ivanitskaya, Shenbrot &amp; Nevo 1996
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura ramona

description: 305. Negev White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura ramona</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure du Ramon / <b>German:</b> Negev-WeiRRzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Negev <b>Other common names:</b> Negev Shrew, Ramon’s Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura ramona Ivanitskaya, Shenbrot &amp; Nevo, 1996, north-eastern region of Makhtesh Ramon, 30° 40’ N, 34° 56’ E, Negev, Israel. In 2001 B. Krystufek and V. Vohralik ques- tioned whether ramona might be a synonym of portali. In 2014 genetic analyses by M. Spivak-Glatter showed clear differences between ramona and other Israeli shrews, but portali was not included in the study due to lack of DNA material; detailed study of these two taxa is required. Conversely, ramona may belong to a Palearctic group of flatheaded “rock shrews” (zarudnyi, serezkyensis, arispa, armenica), with C. pergrisea as its nearest relative, given the inverted structure of the X-chromosomes. Investigations on mitochondrial and nuclear genes by S. Dubey and others in 2008 placed ramona in the Palearctic group as a basalsister taxon to a primary North African clade comprising canariensis, sicula, and tarfayensis; but pergrisea was not included in this study. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Near Mitzpe Ramon and Sede Boquer in Negev Desert and Sartaber in Judean Desert (Israel and Palestine). <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 58-63 mm, tail 42-43 mm, ear 7-8 mm, hindfoot 10-11 mm; weight 4-5 g. Back is silver-gray and venter whitish. Hair gray at bases and silvery white at tips. Tail indistinct bicolor, with a darker underpart; upperside paler, also a shade paler than the back. Skull is flattened. Condylo-incisive length 17-7-18-4 mm. Upper incisor robust, and the second unicuspid is smaller than the third. Karyotype is 2n = 28. <b>Habitat.</b> Rocky desert areas (200-950 m). In or close dry river beds with broom bushes (Retama, Fabaceae), tamarisks (Tamarix, Tamaricaceae) and oraches (Atriplex, Amaranthaceae), also gravel plains with single boulders and in parts rocky highlands with loess. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Negev White-toothed Shrews are terrestrial. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. From 1999 to 2006, attempts to find Negev White-toothed Shrewsfailed. Low rainfall may have caused a population drop; or the species may switch to deeper soil layers in dry times. Threats to the Negev White-toothed Shrew are unknown. The species has been found in five protected areas. <b>Bibliography.</b> Aulagnier et al. (2008), Dubey, Salamin et al. (2008), Grimmberger (2009a), Hutterer (2005b), Hutterer &amp; Shenbrot (2017), Ivanitskaya et al. (1996), Krystufek &amp; Vohralik (2001), Spivak-Glatter (2014).
description: Published as part of <i>Russell A. Mittermeier &amp; Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, pp. 332-551 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 505, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843