Crocidura obscurior Heim de Balsac 1958
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Crocidura
Crocidura obscurior

description: 315. West African Pygmy White-toothed Shrew <i>Crocidura obscurior</i> <b>French:</b> Crocidure obscure / <b>German:</b> Westafrika-\WeiRzahnspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarafia pigmea de Africa occidental <b>Other common names:</b> Obscure White-toothed Shrew, West African Pygmy Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Crocidura bottegi obscurior Heim de Balsac, 1958, montane prairie, Mount Nimba, Guinea. This species previously included C. eburnea but genetic and morphological data have shown that the two are separate, cryptic sister species. They are distinct karyologically, but the chromosomal complementis uncertain: either 2n = 40 and FN = 60, or 2n = 36 and FN = 56, as these two combinations were recorded where this species and C. eburnea are sympatric, but the identity of the specimens tested is unknown. There seem to be three subclades that may represent distinct subspecies, but further studies are needed. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> SE Guinea, E Liberia, S Ivory Coast, and W Ghana; populations ofeither this species, the Ivory Coast White-toothed Shrew (C. eburnea), or both species are found in S Sierra Leone and are included in the range map ofthis species but have not been investigated genetically and could represent either species. There are apparently records that represent this species from S Nigeria, although further research is needed to confirm thatthis speciesis truly found there. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 45-61 mm, tail 30-38 mm, ear 6-8 mm, hindfoot 9-11 mm; weight 2-5-4-3 g. The West African Pygmy White-toothed Shrew is a very small species with short, soft, dense, velvety pelage. Dorsal pelage is dark brown with a slight rufous tinge and a silky sheen; ventral pelage is grayish brown. Ears are darkly pigmented and covered in very short dark hairs, although appearing naked. Tail is relatively long (c.60-70% of head-body length), covered in long white bristle hairs, and bicolored, being dark brown above and slightly paler below. Braincase is high-domed and first upper incisor is long and hooked; tooth row is longer than in the Ivory Coast White-toothed Shrew. M? is wide; there are three unicuspids. <b>Habitat.</b> The West African Pygmy White-toothed Shrew is a forest-dwelling species, but it is also recorded from the elevated grassland on Mount Nimba and from the transition zone between rainforests and Guinean savanna at Simandou. It occurs at elevations up to ¢.600 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> Common prey items found in the stomachs of animals in Ivory Coast were ants (71%), spiders (52-5%), crickets (17%), adult beetles (15-3%), centipedes (11-9%), sowbugs (10-2%), cockroaches (8:5%), heteropterans (7-7%), termites (3-4%), adult lepidopterans (5-1%), and beetle larvae (3-4%). Adult flies, lepidopteran larvae, gastropods, earthworms, some plant material, and grasshoppers also were found in stomach contents but at much lower densities. The species has exceptionally long intestinesforits size. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> West African Pygmy White-toothed Shrews seem to be terrestrial, since much of their prey matches that of other terrestrial species. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The West African Pygmy White-toothed Shrew is common throughoutits extensive range but may be locally threatened by logging operations. <b>Bibliography.</b> Churchfield et al. (2004), Hutterer (2013r), Jacquet et al. (2014), Nicolas, Dando &amp; Kennerley (2017).
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 508, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843