Jump to content

Ivory Coast white-toothed shrew

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ivory Coast white-toothed shrew
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Crocidura
Species:
C. eburnea
Binomial name
Crocidura eburnea
Synonyms

Crocidura bottegi eburnea

The Ivory Coast white-toothed shrew (Crocidura eburnea) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is native to the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Guinea.[2]

Taxonomy

[edit]

Initially described in 1958 by Henri Heim de Balsac as a subspecies of Bottego's shrew (C. bottegi), it was synonymized with the West African pygmy shrew (C. obscurior) in 2005. A 2014 morphological and genetic study found it to be a distinct species as a sister species to C. obscurior.[3] This has been followed by the American Society of Mammalogists and the IUCN Red List.[1][2]

It can only be distinguished from obscurior by its skull shape and mtDNA nucleotide sequence. Both species are sympatric with one another in southeastern Guinea, eastern Liberia, and southwestern Ivory Coast.[1]

Distribution and habitat

[edit]

It is found in lowland rainforest in southeastern Guinea, eastern Liberia, and southwestern Ivory Coast. It is thought to inhabit lowland rainforest (western and eastern Guinean lowland forests), but little is known of its ecology.[1]

Status

[edit]

This species is not thought to face any major threats, and is thus classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Some populations may however be at risk from logging or land clearance for agriculture. C. obscurior is thought to be more adaptable to anthropogenic habitats than C. eburnea.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Nicolas, V.; Dando, T.; Kennerley, R. (2019). "Crocidura eburnea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T111764928A111764940. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T111764928A111764940.en. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  3. ^ Jacquet, François; Nicolas, Violaine; Colyn, Marc; Kadjo, Blaise; Hutterer, Rainer; Decher, Jan; Akpatou, Bertin; Cruaud, Corinne; Denys, Christiane (2014). "Forest refugia and riverine barriers promote diversification in the West African pygmy shrew (Crocidura obscurior complex, Soricomorpha)". Zoologica Scripta. 43 (2): 131–148. doi:10.1111/zsc.12039.