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

description: 197. Taita Shrew <i>Suncus aequatorius</i> <b>French:</b> Pachyure des Taita / <b>German:</b> Taita-Wimperspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Taita <b>Other common names:</b> Dodoma Shrew, Taita Dwarf Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Pachyura lixa aequatoria Heller, 1912, Summit of Mt. Sagalla, Taita Hills, Kenya. The seven species of endemically African Suncus seem to be more closely related to Sylvisorex than to other species of Suncus. They might be better placed in Sylvisorex but are retained within Suncus here until additional research is conducted. S. aequatorius has been included in S. lixa but is now generally considered as separate species based on morphology. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Known only form Mt Sagalla and Chawia Forest in the Taita Hills of SE Kenya; possibly also found in NE Tanzania. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 53-85 mm, tail 51-67 mm, ear 5-5-9-5 mm, hindfoot 11-2-14 mm; weight 7-5-11 g. The Taita Shrew is small to medium-sized, with soft, smooth, and short fur. Males are usually considerably larger than females. Dorsum is gray (hairs with gray bases and brown tips); venteris paler gray. Head is broad; muzzle is pink, covered with long white clear vibrissae; eyes are small; and ears are large, ovalshaped, nearly barren of hair, and pale (nearly white). Feet have five digits and short conspicuously white claws, and they are covered with short fine white hair. Tail is ¢.78% of head-body length, thin, and covered with dirty whitish fine hair. The Taita Shrew has been primarily differentiated from the Greater Dwarf Shrew (S. lixa) byits overall larger size, longer tail, and pelage color, although additional morphometric studies are needed to determine skull differences. There are four unicuspids, and fourth is very small; teeth are unpigmented white. <b>Habitat.</b> Highly degraded montane forests at elevations of 1500-1600 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> No information. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Taita Shrew is relatively common in its degraded, highly fragmented, and small distribution. Its extent of occurrence is only ¢.880 km? and all specimens are from two localities occurring in fewer than five locations in the Taita Hills. It seems to be somewhat resilient but is certainly threatened by general habitat destruction and fragmentation throughout its distribution. <b>Bibliography.</b> Dubey, Salamin, Ohdachi et al. (2007), Dubey, Salamin, Ruedi et al. (2008), Heim de Balsac &amp; Meester (1977), Kennerley (2016b), Oguge &amp; Hutterer (2013), Oguge 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 464, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843