Cryptotis pueblensis
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Cryptotis
Cryptotis pueblensis

description: 103. Puebla Least Shrew <i>Cryptotis pueblensis</i> <b>French:</b> Musaraigne du Puebla / <b>German:</b> Puebla-Kleinohrspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana minima de Puebla <b>Other common names:</b> Puebla Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Cryptotis pergracilis pueblensis H. H. T. Jackson, 1933, “ Huachinango, altitude 5000 feet [= 1524 m], State of Puebla, Mexico.” Restricted by L. N. Car- raway in 2007 to “latitude 20-18°N, longitude 98-05°W.” Cryptotis pueblensis traditionally was considered a subspecies of C. parvus but is now recognized as a distinct species in the C. parvus group, somewhat tentatively, based primarily on limited morphologi- cal and genetic data. L.. Guevara and F. A. Cervantes in 2014 found that C. pueblensis was sister to C. berlandier: with small genetic distance, indicating that these two species might be conspecific. In the same study, C. parvus was sister to the clade containing the two species with large genetic distance similar to that of other related species in the genus, but they were all retained as subspecies of C. parvus, with mention of their possible specific status. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> San Luis Potosi, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Chiapas (EC &amp; S Mexico). <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body ¢.51-77 mm, tail 22 mm (from holotype), hindfoot 10-13 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Puebla Least Shrew is small. Dorsum is medium to dark brown, and venteris pale to medium brown. Forefeet are relatively broad, with short broad claws; feet are small and dusky in color. Tail is short (less than 45% of head-body length), covered with short hair, brown above, and slightly lighter below. Eyes are diminutive, and ears are small and barely visible under fur. The Puebla Least Shrew is distinguished from Berlandier’s Least Shrew (C. berlandter) by their darker ventral colors and from the Mexican Least Shrew (C. soricinus) by breadth across M* and M” (3-8—4-1 mm). It can also be distinguished from the Tropical Least Shrew (C. tropicalis) by its darker ventral color and generally smaller size. Skull is typical of other least shrews. Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids. <b>Habitat.</b> Rocky outcrops associated with moist meadows, sawgrass (Cladium, Cyperaceae), or dense brush, elephant’s ear (Colocasia esculenta, Araceae) with other succulent vegetation near streams, and rock walls overgrown with grass and brush between fields of coffee, at elevations of 30-2300 m (typically mid-elevations). There are some records of Puebla Least Shrews from sandy banks of rivers and arid coastal plains. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Puebla Least Shrews are carnivorous/insectivorous, feeding on a variety of invertebrates and occasionally vertebrates. <b>Breeding.</b> Lactating Puebla Least Shrews have been captured in Oaxaca in August and Veracruz in October, although breeding probably occurs year-round. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Puebla Least Shrew is semi-fossorial and most active at night. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> There is no specific information for this species, but Puebla Least Shrews might be more social than most shrews, similar to the North American Least Shrew (C. parvus). <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Puebla Least Shrew has a relatively wide distribution and seems to have no major threats throughout its distribution. Little is known ofits ecology, and additional research is needed. <b>Bibliography.</b> Carraway (2007), Castro-Arellano (2014a), Choate (1970), Guevara &amp; Cervantes (2014).
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 432-433, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843