Suncus fellowesgordoni W. W. A. Phillips 1932
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Suncus
Suncus fellowesgordoni

description: 186. Sri Lankan Shrew <i>Suncus fellowesgordoni</i> <b>French:</b> Pachyure de Fellowes-Gordon / <b>German:</b> Sri-Lanka-Wimperspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musaraia pigmea de Sri Lanka <b>Other common names:</b> Ceylon Pygmy Shrew, Gordon's Pygmy Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Suncus fellowesgordoni W. W. A. Phillips, 1932, West Haputale Estate (6000 ft. [= 1829 m]), Ohiya, Central Province, Sri Lanka. Initially, S. fellowesgordoni was believed to belong to S. perrottetii named by J. L. Duvernoy in 1842 (now in S. etruscus) due to its similarity in size. Later, S. fellowesgordoni was recognized as a distinct species, based on its larger size. Most subsequent authors considered it a sub- species or synonym of S. etruscus. W. W. A. Phillips in 1980 listed Podihik kura by P. E. P. Deraniyagala in 1958 under S. fellowesgordoni. R. Hutterer in 1993 and 2005 recognized S. fellowesgordoni as a distinct species and assigned Podihik to S. etruscus. Suncus is now known to be paraphyletic, with African Suncus falling with Sylvisorex in a separate clade, distinct from Eurasian species of Suncus. In a phylogenetic study by S. Meegaskumbura and others in 2012, S. fellowesgordoni was closely related to S. etruscus from Sri Lanka, India, and Europe. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from C highlands of Sri Lanka. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 44-58 mm,tail 33-5-38 mm, ear 5-6-8 mm, hindfoot 9-6-11 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Females are usually slightly smaller than males. The Sri Lankan Shrew is small. Tail is 72-80% of head-body length and is not thickened at base but rather mouse-like, slender, and scarcely tapering with few hairs at base. Dorsum is glossy chocolate brown to blackish brown; venter is dark gray, with silvery sheen. Throatis gray; snout, ears, and forefeet are pink. Hindfeet are dusky above and lighter below. Tail is dark above and light below. Long whiskers are silvery gray. Subadults are generally darker than adults, almost black dorsally. The Sri Lankan Shrew differs from the Etruscan Shrew (S. etruscus), also from Sri Lanka, in thatit is markedly darker, and external dimensions, except ear length, are larger. Skull is also larger in all measurements, and the Sri Lankan Shrew has two denticulations on upper edge of 1, lacking in the Etruscan Shrew. P. D. Jenkins and colleagues in 1998 demonstrated that this Sri Lankan endemic shrew shares many “primitive” characteristics with Day’s Shrew (S. dayi) and some species of Sylvisorex but also synapomorphies with Suncus. Condylo-basal lengths are 12-7-13-6 mm. <b>Habitat.</b> Montane forests and wet patana (upland plain) grasslands at elevations of 1000-1828 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Diet of the Sri Lankan Shrew contains small earthworms, crabs, and insects. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Sri Lankan Shrews are terrestrial and diurnal/nocturnal. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> The Sri Lankan Shrew appears to live under low herbage and dead leaves in scrub jungle and forests. One individual was found among loose silt and leaves in a field drain, and another under a large stone. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Sri Lankan Shrew has a restricted distribution (less than 5000 km?) and small area of occupancy (less than 500 km?). Its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is a continuing decline in extent and quality ofits habitat. Other threats include fire and conversion of suitable habitat to plantations of cardamom and tea. It occurs in Knuckles Forest Reserve in Central Province of Sri Lanka. Ecological and population studies are needed. <b>Bibliography.</b> Corbet &amp; Hill (1992), Dubey, Salamin et al. (2008), Deraniyagala (1958), Duvernoy (1842), Eisenberg &amp; McKay (1970), Ellerman &amp; Morrison-Scott (1966), Goonatilake et al. (2008a), Hutterer (1993, 2005b), Jenkins et al. (1998), Meegaskumbura et al. (2012), Molur et al. (2005), Phillips (1932, 1980).
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 pages 460-461, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843