Crocidura attenuata 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
Crocidura
Crocidura attenuata

description: 257. Asian Gray White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura attenuata</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure mince / <b>German:</b> Graue WeilRzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana gris de Asia <b>Other common names:</b> Gray Shrew, Indochinese Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura attenuata Milne-Edwards, 1872, Moupin (= Baoxing), Szechuan, China. As Asian Crocidura species are morpho- logically very conservative, many forms were confused with C. attenuata or origi- nally included it in. Previously confused with C. fuliginosa (a larger form) and C. hilliana (a distinctive South-east Asian species). Newly recognized species that were originally identified as C. attenuata include C. cranbrooki (endemic to northern Myanmar), C. sokolovi (South Vietnam), C. tanakae (Taiwan Island) and C. trichura (Christmas Island). Race grisescens previously included within C. dracula has been reassigned to C. attenuata. This species probably still comprises unrecognized taxa; revision to include topotype is warranted. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Widely distributed in mainland of C &amp; S China (from SE Tibet [= Xizang] E through S Gansu and Shaanxi to Fujian) and Hainan I, also recorded in Nepal, NE India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Because many specimens previously identified as C. attenuata have been recognized as distinct species,its distribution range may be overestimated, and its limits are unclear. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 62-91 mm, tail 41-61 mm, hindfoot 11-15 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive length 18-2-21-2 mm, tooth row 8:1-9-4 mm. The Asian Gray White-toothed Shrew is a medium-sized shrew. Dorsal pelage dark grayish brown and gradually blending into the paler, grayer ventral pelage; summer pelage darker. Tail is 60%-76% of head-body length, brown above, slightly paler below, and covered with fine hairs; long bristle hairs are present on the tail along the proximal half. Superior articular facets more angular in dorsal view; mastoid relatively shallow, anterior portion of mastoid elongated. Upper premolar with protocone positioned posteriorly relative to the paracone; posterolingual border of the tooth not so rounded; posterior border of tooth deeply concave. Posterobuccal crest of paracone of M* forming a smooth W-shaped loph in unworn dentition. <b>Habitat.</b> Occurs in diverse habitats, including lowland and montane tropical and subtropical moist forest, bamboo forest, herbaceous vegetation, and scrubland, as well as secondary forest. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Asian Gray White-toothed Shrew is insectivorous. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Terrestrial. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. Although it is considered a common species widely distributed in southern China and Southeast Asian countries, its population size is far from clear. As several taxa have been recognized as distinct species, its distribution may well be smaller than currently thought. <b>Bibliography.</b> Abramov et al. (2013), Heaney &amp; Timm (1983), Jenkins (2013), Jenkins, Abramov et al. (2013), Jenkins, Lunde &amp; Moncrieff (2009), Jiang Xuelong &amp; Hoffmann (2001), Lunde et al. (2003).
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 485-486, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843