Anourosorex squamipes Milne-Edwards 1872
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Anourosorex
Anourosorex squamipes
Anourosorex squamaipes

description: 144. Chinese Mole Shrew <i>Anourosorex squamaipes</i> <b>French:</b> Musaraigne taupe / <b>German:</b> Maulwurfspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana topo de China <b>Other common names:</b> Chinese Short-tailed Shrew, Mole Shrew, Sichuan Burrowing Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Anourosorex squamipes Milne- Edwards, 1872, probably Moupin (= Baox- ing), Sichuan, China. Anourosorex squamipes is the type species of the genus, which was considered mono- typic until recently. Anourosorex squamipes used to include assamensis, schmidi, and yamashinai as subspecies, all of which are currently recognized as full species based on karyotypic differences between yamashinai and squamipes and morpho- logical differences among assamensis, squamipes, and yamashinai. The forms capito and capnias are considered synonyms, both of which were collected in Yunnan, China. Anourosorex squamipes is sister to A. yamashinai. Specimens from Mizoram and Assam in India that were assigned to A. squamipes are obviously A. assamensis, which means that A. squamipes is not distributed in India. It is unclear where the distributional boundary is, especially between A. assamensis and A. squamipes. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Widely distributed in C &amp; S China (from S Gansu S to Guangdong), adjacent N &amp; E Myanmar, N Laos, N Vietnam, and N Thailand. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 74-110 mm, tail 8-19 mm, hindfoot 11-16 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 23-3-26-5 mm, and upper tooth rows are 10-7-12:6 mm. The Chinese Mole Shrew is medium-sized, characterized by small eyes and short tail. It resembles a shrew mole in external appearance but with smaller claws. Body fur is dense and lax. Dorsal pelage is black or dark grayish brown, and ventral pelage is slightly paler. Eyes are small. External ears are completely reduced, and only slim openings can be traced. Forefeet have lengthened claws. Tail is short and dark brown. It has a two upper unicuspids, and first is longer than second. Upper P*and M' are quadrangle, and M* is usually triangular. Upper M? is much reduced. Cusps of teeth are unpigmented. It has very strong smell. Dental formula for all species of Anourosorexis13/2, C0/0,P 1/1, M 3/3 (x2) = 26. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FNa = 92. <b>Habitat.</b> Various habitats including broad-leaved, conifer, bamboo forests, subalpine shrubs, and grassland at elevations of 300-4000 m. The Chinese Mole Shrew is well adapted to anthropogenic habitats including farms, plantations, gardens, and parks. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Chinese Mole Shrew is insectivorous, foraging on a wide variety of invertebrates. Examination of stomach contents found earthworms, insects, insect larvae, spiders, and frogs. Captive individuals ate raw meat, eels, fish, and occasionally oatmeal. <b>Breeding.</b> Breeding of the Chinese Mole Shrew in south-western China occurs in April-October. Litters have 3-5 young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Most Chinese Mole Shrews were trapped during dusk and at night. It is terrestrial and semi-fossorial, moving on the ground and frequently using tunnels. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Chinese Mole Shrew is among the most common species of shrews in China. It is considered a pest in Sichuan, because populations can be large in farmland. It is known to be a host of hantavirus. Population size is highly variable but unlikely to be declining overall. <b>Bibliography.</b> Hutterer (1985, 2005), Kawada et al. (2014), Mandal &amp; Das (1969), Mandal et al. (1995), Motokawa &amp; Lin Liangkong (2002), Motokawa et al. (2004).
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 447, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843