Crocidura crosser Thomas 1895
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura crosser

description: 361. Crosse’s White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura crosser</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure de Crosse / <b>German:</b> Crosse-WeiRzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Crosse <b>Other common names:</b> Crosse’'s Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura (Crocidura) Crossei Thomas, 1895, “ Asaba, 150 miles [= 241 km] up the River Niger,” Nigeria. Crocidura crossei might be related to the morphologically similar C. gracilipes, but genetic data have shown thatthis species is actually sister to C. jouvenetae, which it may still be considered conspecific with due to their paraphyly. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> West Africa from Guinea E to SW Cameroon. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 54-80 mm, tail 45-57 mm, ear 6-11 mm, hindfoot 10-13 mm; weight 4-5-8 g. Crosse’s White-toothed Shrew is small to medium-sized. Dorsal pelage is slate-gray or grayish brown to chocolate-brown, and ventral pelage is grayish and paler than dorsum. Limbs are generally dark, and feet are brownish buff. Tail is ¢.84% of head-body length, quite stout, hairy, covered with longer bristle hairs throughout, grayish brown above, and paler below. Skull is long, and braincase is flat; skull is angular in dorsal view and sometimes has marked mid-dorsal break; rostrum is slender; anterior upper incisors are small and delicate; and second and third unicuspids are subequal. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44 and FN = 66, although this might be based on specimens of Crosse’s White-toothed Shrew or Jouvenet’s White-toothed Shrew (C. jouvenetae). <b>Habitat.</b> Forested habitats such as rainforest, relic forests surrounded by savanna, and tree plantations from lowlands to forests on Mount Cameroon. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Crosse’s White-toothed Shrews search leaflitter and similar ground cover for food, which probably includes insects. <b>Breeding.</b> Pregnant Crosse’s White-toothed Shrews have been recorded in the wet season (April, May, October, and November) of southern Nigeria and in early December in Ghana, but it is not knownif they also breed during the dry season. Litters have 2-4 young. <b>Activity patterns.</b> No information. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Individuals seem to wander widely, based on low recapture rates (four of 40 individuals recaptured). <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Crosse’s White-toothed Shrew has a relatively wide distribution and is considered common with no major threats. It is considered the most common species of shrew in some regions of Nigerian rainforest, making up 70% of captures. It has been recorded in numerous nature reserves, including Gambari Forest Reserve in Nigeria. <b>Bibliography.</b> Churchfield &amp; Jenkins (2013b), Decher et al. (1997), Grubb et al. (1998), Happold (1975, 1977, 1987), Heim de Balsac &amp; Meester (1977), Hutterer &amp; Happold (1983), Hutterer &amp; Jenkins (2016b), Jacquet et al. (2012).
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 523, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843