Crocidura zimmermanni Wettstein 1953
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura zimmermanni

description: 312. Cretan White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura zimmermanni</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure de Zimmermann / <b>German:</b> Kreta-Spitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Creta <b>Other common names:</b> Cretan Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura russula zimmermanni Wettstein, 1953, Nida Plateau, Ida Mountains, Crete, Greece. Originally considered a subspecies of C. russula but in 1978 I. Vesmanis and H. Kahmann classified it as a full species based on morphological characteristics; species rank was also supported by its special karyotype of 2n = 34. In 1986, J. W. F. Reumer suggested that C. zommermanni represented a relict population of a Pleis- tocene species. Results of molecular biological research by S. Dubey and others in 2008 and P. Vogel and colleagues in 2006 showed that it is basal taxon to a primary North African clade that includes C. canariensis, C. sicula, and C. tarfayensis. Also, investigations on mitochondrial and nuclear genes by Dubey and others indicate a closer relationship to some African shrews than to Asian species, and place C. zimmermanni as a sister taxon to C. luna of central East Africa. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Crete I (Greece), mainly in C mountain areas, including Nida and Omalos plateaus. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 65-78 mm, tail 35-42 mm, ear 7-2-13 mm, hindfoot 12-14 mm; weight 7-8 g. Males are slightly larger than females, and Recent individuals are larger than those from the Pleistocene; there are also indications of differences in size between central and western populations. In summer, fur is gray-brown on the dorsum, grayer and not as dark as that of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew (C. suaveolens); underparts are covered with lighter brownish gray hair; there is no clear dividing line between dorsal and ventral areas; the pelage of the foreand hindfeet is pale; not known if fur color changes in winter. Skull is like that of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew, but with a more elongated rostrum, and mandibles too are longer and slenderer. Condylo-incisive length 18-7-21 mm; the third upper unicuspid is higher than the parastyle of the upper premolar; the first and second unicuspids are also relatively large compared with those of the Lesser White-toothed Shrew. <b>Habitat.</b> Mountainous areas (altitudes of 140-1400 m) covered with shrubland and characterized by harsh climate conditions, such as snow in winter and aridity in summer. Within these zones, the Cretan White-toothed Shrew is primarily found in humid places with moss cushions under barberry-bushes (Berbers cretica, Berberidaceae). Recent records at lower altitudes (140-830 m) come exclusively from owl pellets. Subfossil records in coastal areas are also known, but the preferred habitats in lowland and coastal areas are unknown. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Cretan White-toothed Shrews are terrestrial. Some records from common barn-owl (Tyto alba) pellets could be an indication of nocturnal or crepuscular behavior. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Population is probably decreasing. The Cretan White-toothed Shrew is threatened by habitat loss, and at lower altitudes it seems to be outcompeted by the the probably introduced subspecies of Giildenstiadt’s White-toothed Shrew (C. g. gueldenstaedtii) (c.3550-3700 BC); this could ultimately lead to extinction. The species is protected under Appendix III of the Bern Convention, but further research and specific conservation actions are required. <b>Bibliography.</b> Aulagnier et al. (2008), Corbet (1978), Dubey, Koyasu et al. (2008), Dubey, Salamin et al. (2008), van der Geer et al. (2010), Gérner &amp; Hackethal (1988), Hutterer (2005b), Pieper (1990), Reumer(1986), Reumer &amp; Payne (1986), Sakoulis (2008), Vesmanis &amp; Kahmann (1978), Vogel (1986, 1999b), Vogelet al. (2006), Vohralik (2008), Wettstein (1953).
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 507, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843