Cryptotis orophilus
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Cryptotis
Cryptotis orophilus

description: 101. Central American Least Shrew <i>Cryptotis orophilus</i> <b>French:</b> Musaraigne d'lrazu / <b>German:</b> Mittelamerika-Kleinohrspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana minima de Centroameérica <b>Other common names:</b> Central American Small-eared Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Blarina (Soriciscus) orophila J. A. Allen, 1895, “ Volcan de Irazu,” Cartago Province, Costa Rica. Widely used specific name orophila has been changed for gender agreement. Cryptotis orophilus has traditionally been included in C. parvus, but N. Woodman suggested that C. orophilus was a distinct species, which was followed by R. Hutterer in 2005. Itis in the C. parvus group, and A. B. Baird and colleagues in 2018 determined that C. orophilus issister to C. tropicalis, with C. parvus sister to this clade. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> W Honduras, extreme NE El Salvador, Nicaragua, and S to C Costa Rica. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 48-77 mm, tail 17-24 mm, hindfoot 11 mm; weight c.3-10 g. The Central American Least Shrew is a smallto medium-sized. Dorsum is dark brown, fading to smoky gray venter. Juvenile pelage reported to be peppered gray. Forefeet are relatively broad, with long broad claws; feet are small and dusky in color. Tail is very short (c.29-38% of head-body length), covered with short hair, and dusky brown above and slightly lighter below. Eyes are diminutive, and ears are small and barely visible under fur. Skull has relatively long rostrum, with flatter braincase than in the Honduran Small-eared Shrew (C. hondurensis). Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids. <b>Habitat.</b> Marshes and various wooded habitats at elevations of 1150-1985 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Central American Least Shrew is carnivorous/insectivorous, feeding primarily on insect larvae, centipedes, and earthworms. <b>Breeding.</b> A pregnant Central American Least Shrew with three embryos was captured in October. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Central American Least Shrews are mainly nocturnal but can be active sporadically day and night. They are terrestrial, making tiny runways or using existing larger runways of rodents. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> There is no specific information for this species, but the Central American Least Shrew is probably similar to the North American Least Shrew (C. parvus). <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as C. orophila). Very little specific information is known of the Central American Least Shrew, but it has a relatively small distribution and might be threatened by urban and agricultural development and pesticide use. Additional studies are needed. <b>Bibliography.</b> Baird et al. (2018), Choate (1970), Guevara, Lorenzo et al. (2014), Hutterer (2005b), Reid (2009), Whitaker (1974), Woodman (2008b).
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 431, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843