Crocidura vorax G. M. Allen 1923
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura vorax

description: 272. Voracious White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura vorax</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure vorace / <b>German:</b> Gefrallige Weilzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana voraz <b>Other common names:</b> Voracious Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura vorax G. M. Allen, 1923, “ Li-chiang [= Lijiang], Yunnan, China, taken in timber-line forest on Ssu-Shan (Snow Mountain), 12,000 feet [= 3658 m | altitude.” Crocidura vorax had been considered a subspecies of C. russula (mainly distributed in Europe and North Africa) and synonyms of C. gueldenstaedtii (synonym of C. suaveolens) or C. pullata (West Himalaya). It has been recognized as distinct based on mor- phometric comparisons but only differentiates from C. pullata and other forms from China in discriminant analyses. It has not been included in molecular-based analyses, and its systematic position needs to be reassessed. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> S China (including S Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan), Thailand, and Laos; it was reported from NE India and Hainan I (China), both of which are suspicious. Its distribution in Vietnam is not supported. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 54-90 mm, tail 41-51 mm, hindfoot 11-14 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 17-7-20-1 mm, and tooth rows are 7-1-8-2 mm. The Voracious White-toothed Shrew is medium-sized. Pelage is pale grayish brown, with narrow gray band below brownish tips of dorsal guard hairs. Tail is sharply bicolored. Bristle hair extends over 80% of proximal part of tail. It is similar to the Asian Gray White-toothed Shrew (C. attenuata) but generally smaller, with more brownish pelage. It is superficially similar to the Chinese Whitetoothed Shrew (C. rapax) but larger. Skull of the Voracious White-toothed Shrew is robust. Upper incisors are obviously long, extending straightly downward. Buccal lophs of M* terminate in a conule separate from mesostylar cusp, so that two separate V-shaped lophs are evident in unworn dentition. <b>Habitat.</b> Presumably wide variety of environmental conditions and habitats but poorly known. Holotype of the Voracious White-toothed Shrew was recorded at an elevation of ¢.3600 m. It was also reported from semi-evergreen forest in a limestone area at low elevations in Laos. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Voracious White-toothed Shrew is considered 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. There is little knowledge regarding distribution and population status of the Voracious Whitetoothed Shrew. Nevertheless, 27 specimens have been recovered from owl pellets in Thailand, perhaps suggesting its population size is large. It is unknown if it can adapt to anthropogenic habitats. <b>Bibliography.</b> Allen (1923), Jenkins et al. (2009), Jiang Xuelong &amp; Hoffmann (2001), Robinson et al. (1995), Smith et al. (1998).
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 492, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843