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 381. Large-headed White-toothed Shrew Crocidura grandiceps French: Crocidure a téte longue / German: GroRRkopf-Weilzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de cabeza grande Other common names: Large-headed Shrew , Large-headed Forest Shrew Taxonomy. Crocidura grandiceps Hutterer, 1983 , Krokosua Hills , north of Asempanaya (Asampaniye) , Sedfwi Wiaso , Ghana . Crocidura grandicepsis sister to C. theresae in a clade including C. cyanea , C. mariquensis , C. silacea , C. hildegardeae , C. batesi , C. foxi , C. buettikoferi , and C. wimmeri , which is sister to another clade including C. crenata , C. fuscomurina , C. crossei , C. jouvenetae , and C. lusitania . Monotypic. Distribution. Scattered localities in West Africa in SW Guinea, Liberia, W Ivory Coast, S Ghana, S Benin, S Nigeria, and possibly SW Cameroon, although identity of a few of these populations needs to be confirmed, such as the Cameroonian specimen, which is dubious. Descriptive notes. Head-body 98-119 mm, tail 55-74 mm, ear 10-12 mm, hindfoot 17-19 mm; weight 19-27 g. The Large-headed White-toothed Shrew is very large. Dorsal pelage is clove-brown, and ventral pelage is slightly paler. Feet are dark brown. Tail is ¢.55-65% of the headbody length and slightly bicolored, being brown above and paler below. Skull is large and slightly domed; upper incisors are long and nearly straight; first unicuspid is pointed and larger than second and third, which are equal in size; and M? medium to large in size. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 46 and FN = 68. Habitat. Primary and degraded rainforests from lowlands to elevations of ¢.1800 m. 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 Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Large-headed White-toothed Shrew is relatively uncommon, with the largest population in Tai National Park in Ivory Coast. It is threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, especially in Nigeria and Ghana. Bibliography. Bekker & Ekué (2004), Churchfield et al. (2004), Decher (2004), Decher, Gray et al. (2011), Decher, Hoffmann et al. (2009), Grubb et al. (1998), Happold (1987), Hutterer (1983a, 2008f, 2013k), Nicolas et al. (2009), Quérouil et al. (2005), Vogel et al. (2013), Weber & Fahr (2007).