Crocidura musseri Ruedi &amp; Vogel 1995
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura musseri

description: 290. Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura musseri</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure de Musser / <b>German:</b> Musser\WeiRzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de bosque de musgo <b>Other common names:</b> Mossy Forest Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura musseri Ruedi &amp; Vogel, 1995, Gunung (= Mount) Rorekatimbo, 2230 m, central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Crocidura musseri is part of the strongly supported “Old Sulawesian” clade of shrews that evolved from an ancient (Miocene) colonization from the Sunda Shelf to the island of Sulawesi. Other shrews in this ancient radiation include the Sulawesian endemics C. lea, C. levicula, C. rhoditis, and C. elongata, but not C. nigripes (evolved from a more recent colonization event). Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Endemic to C Sulawesi, known from at least four mountain regions (Mt Rorekatimbo, Mt Balease, Mt Gandangdewata, and Mt Latimojong). <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 62-77 mm, tail 57-72 mm, ear 6 mm, hindfoot 13-4— 14-8 mm; weight 5-5-10 g. The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew is medium-sized and grayish brown, with soft and dense pelage. Long hairs (7 mm on mid-dorsum) are bicolored, slate-gray at bases, and rusty brown neartips. Venteris lighter brown. Dorsal sides of feet are brown. Tail is slightly shorter than head-body length and covered with short hairs hiding scales; long bristles are sparsely distributed along most ofits length. Skull is distinctly stocky due to short rostrum, broad interorbital constriction, and globular braincase. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 32 and FN = 54, which is unique among South-east Asian shrews; most of them have higher fundamental or chromosomal count, or both. <b>Habitat.</b> Primary montane rainforests up to moss forests covering mountaintops at elevations of 800-2300 m. The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew is most abundant at higher elevations in this range, which are dominated by cold and humid mossy forests. It is terrestrial and captured in traps set under fallen trees and logs and in moss covering rocks. The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew has been found in sympatry with other insectivorous mammals, including four other species of shrews and several murid rodents (Taeromys spp. and Melasmothrix spp.). <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew is insectivorous. In captivity, it can be maintained on crickets and earthworms. <b>Breeding.</b> Three female Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrews captured in August were lactating, but no known data aboutlitter size or extent of breeding season are available. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew is probably mainly nocturnal, but it has been trapped during daytime. It is active in dense ground vegetation covering wet and cold forests at high elevations. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Data deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Mossy Forest White-toothed Shrew has only been found in central Sulawesi and is considered a range-restricted species. It occurs in several protected areas (e.g. Lore Lindu National Park). Its high montane habitat is probably underless threat from deforestation than forests at lower elevations, but no precise data on abundance or population trends are available. <b>Bibliography.</b> Dubey, Salamin et al. (2008), Esselstyn &amp; Brown (2009), Esselstyn et al. (2009), Gerrie &amp; Kennerley (2016k), Hutterer (2005b), Musser (1987), Ruedi (1995, 1996), Ruedi &amp; Vogel (1995), Ruedi et al. (1998).
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 498, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843