Sorex bedfordiae Thomas 1911
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Sorex
Sorex bedfordiae

description: 5. Lesser Striped Shrew <i>Sorex bedfordiae</i> <b>French:</b> Musaraigne de Bedford / <b>German:</b> Kleine Streifenspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarafa listada menor <b>Other common names:</b> Lesser Stripe-backed Shrew Taxonomy. Sorex bedfordiae Thomas, 1911, “ Omi-san, Sze-chwan [= China, Sichuan].” Sorex bedfordiae is closely related to but distinct from S. ¢ylindricauda, which is supported by morphological and molecular evidence. Subspecies S. cylindricauda nepalensis from Nepal has been reassigned into S. bedfordiae. A recent molecular study supported S. excelsus as a clade well-embedded in S. bedfordiae, making S. bedfordiae paraphyletic. Examination of subspecies gomphus and nepalensis found differences in their skulls, suggesting need for taxonomic revision among these taxa. Here, S. bedfordiae is included in the S. bedfordiae group, which is defined as also including S. mirabilis, S. excelsus, and S. cylindricaudus, although S. mirabilis may not be part ofthis clade and further studies are needed. Subspecies wardi includes fumeolus as a synonym. Four subspecies recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> S.b.bedfordiaeThomas,1911—WSichuanandNEYunnan,China. S.b.gomphusG.M.Allen,1923—mostofYunnan,China,andadjacentMyanmar. S.b.nepalensisWeigel,1969—Nepal;recordsfromSTibet(=Xizang),China,mightbethissubspecies. S. b. wardi Thomas, 1911 — Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing, and W Hubei, China; distribution limits between subspecies bedfordiae and wardi are not clear. Descriptive notes. Head-body 55-77 mm, tail 42-66 mm, hindfoot 11-15 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 17-6-19 mm, and tooth rows are 7-1-7-8 mm. The Lesser Striped Shrew is morphologically similar to the Greater Striped Shrew (S. ¢ylindricauda) but smaller and with relatively shorter tail. It has black dorsal stripe that is less conspicuous than in the Greater Striped Shrew, and it also exhibits variable intensity among geographical populations. Dorsum is dark brown, venteris lighter with white hairs, and they are not sharply bicolored. Tail is unicolored and naked. Braincase is dome-shaped and high. Rostrum is long and narrow, most obvious in subspecies nepalensis. Rostrum of subspecies gomphus gradually tapers in premaxillary region, but rostrum of nepalensis is parallel-sided. There are five upper unicuspids, and first to fourth gradually decrease in size and height. Fifth unicuspid is obviously lower but larger than the fourth. Chromosomal complement has a 2n = 24/25 and FN = 46/48 because of the present of a B-chromosome. Habitat. Broadleaf and coniferous forests and alpine rhododendron habitats at elevations of 2000-4270 m in China and 3300-4400 m in Nepal. Food and Feeding. The Lesser Striped Shrew is insectivorous. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. Most Lesser Striped Shrews were captured at nighttime. They are terrestrial, and no arboreal behavior has been observed in captive individuals. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Lesser Striped Shrew has a large distribution in south-western mountains of China. It also inhabits a wide range of elevations and different habitats, so its overall population is unlikely to be declining rapidly. Bibliography. Allen (1923), Anthony (1941), Chen Shunde et al. (2014), Hoffmann (1987), Motokawa et al. (2009), Thomas (1911¢, 1912).
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 396, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843