Soricidae
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
Author
Don E. Wilson
text
2018
2018-07-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos
332
551
book chapter
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870843
978-84-16728-08-4
6870843
398.
Savanna White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura fulvastra
French:
Crocidure jaunatre
/
German:
Savannen-WeiRzahnspitzmaus
/
Spanish:
Musarana de sabana
Other common names:
Savanna Shrew
Taxonomy.
Sorex fulvaster Sundevall, 1843
,
Bahr el Abiad
,
Sudan
.
Crocidura fulvastra
is sister to
C. viaria
within the C. olivier: group. Monotypic.
Distribution.
Sahelian region from Mali E to W & C Ethiopia; there is a mummified specimen found in Thebes, although there have been no living individuals collected in Egypt, so the species is assumed to be extinct there.
Descriptive notes.
Head—body 99-120 mm
(males) and 86-94 mm (females), tail 57-64 mm (males) and 49-55 mm (females), ear 12-13 mm (males) and 10-11 mm (females), hindfoot 14-17 mm (males) and 14-15 mm (females); weight 16-29 g (males) and 10-18 g (females). The Savanna White-toothed Shrew is very large, with considerable sexual dimorphism because males are, on average, larger than females. Dorsal pelage is pale brown to cinnamon (hairs are bluish gray with cinnamon tips), and ventral pelage and flanks are whitish gray (hairs are gray with white tips) and clearly delineated from dorsum. Tail is ¢.60% of head-body length, thin, brownish, and hairy with longer bristle hairs throughout. Skull is long and narrow, rostrum is long, interorbital constriction is narrow, braincase is oval-shaped, zygomatic process of maxilla is angular, I' is long and sharp, and upper premolars and molars are narrow compared with the Savanna Path White-toothed Shrew (
C. viaria
). There are three unicuspids.
Habitat.
Dry savanna habitats and likely variety of mesic habitats.
Food and Feeding.
No information.
Breeding.
No information.
Activity patterns.
No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
No information.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Savanna White-toothed Shrew has a wide distribution and is relatively abundant with no major threats.
Bibliography.
Churchfield & Jenkins (2013c), Hutterer & Happold (1983), Hutterer & Jenkins (1980, 2016f), Jacquet, Denys et al. (2015), Jacquet, Hutterer et al. (2013), Setzer (1956), Vogel et al. (2013), Yalden et al. (1996).