Suncus mertensi Kock 1974
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Suncus
Suncus mertensi

description: 195. Flores Shrew <i>Suncus mertensi</i> <b>French:</b> Pachyure de Florés / <b>German:</b> Flores-Wimperspitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Flores <b>Other common names:</b> Flores Pygmy Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Suncus mertensi Kock, 1974, Rana Mese (near Ruteng), Flores, Indonesia Originally, specimens from Flores were together with some shrews from the oth- er Lesser Sunda Islands and erroneously classified as Crocidura monticola, without detailed research of taxonomical characteristics. D. Kock in 1974 identified the Flores specimens as a new species, S. mertensi, with similarities to the other long-tailed species S. dayi and S. megalurus. P. D. Jenkins and others in 1998 discussed a possible relationship between long-tailed species of Suncus and the granti-group of the African genus Sylvisorex, given some similarities in cranial characteristics. This has been tested in several morphological and biochemical studies with S. dayi, but genetic results did not support this proposed relationship. Therefore, similarities are probably based on a convergent adaptation to climbing activity. Additional studies are needed to resolve phylogenetic position of mertensi. It probably is a survivor from the late Pleistocene. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from the type locality near Lake Rana Mese (altitude c.1200 m) on the W part of Flores I, Indonesia. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head-body 62-68 mm, tail 54-62 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Fur of the Flores Shrew is reddish brown to dark brown and shows no noticeable color differences between dorsal and ventral sides. Hair is relatively long. Upper parts and underparts of forefeet and hindfeet and ears are dark. Feet are elongated, with extended wide-ranging phalanges. Tail is unicolored, 83-87% of head-body length, and prehensile, which allows climbing. Tail has limited number of long bristles, with unpigmented tips on basal onehalf. Aboral cusp of first upper incisor is rarely higher than fourth unicuspid. Mandible is slender and elongated. Skull of the Flores Shrew is larger than in the Bornean Pygmy Shrew (S. hosei) and the Malayan Pygmy Shrew (S. malayanus) but smaller than in the Black Shrew (S. ater). Skull of the Flores Shrew has a curved profile caused by conspicuously arched braincase. Condylo-basal lengths are 19-3-19-9 mm. <b>Habitat.</b> Moist montane forests. It is not clear whether the Flores Shrew can adapt to anthropogenic environments. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> No information. <b>Breeding.</b> No information. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Long tail and elongated feet of the Flores Shrew probably indicate a scansoriallifestyle. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> No information. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The population size of the Flores Shrew is unknown but presumed to be decreasing because of habitat loss in a limited distribution ofless than 5000 km?. Human population in the region is high, and montane forests are threatened with illegal wood harvesting, conversion to farmland, and expanding settlements. The Flores Shrew occurs in Ruteng Nature Recreation Park, but there are several conflicts with communities about the borders of the Park. Additional surveys are needed to better understand densities and distribution and to develop conservation projects. <b>Bibliography.</b> Clayton (2016), Dubey, Salamin et al. (2008), van der Geer et al. (2010), Hutterer (1985, 2005b), Jenkins et al. (1998), Kock (1974), Mertens (1929, 1936).
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 pages 463-464, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843