Crocidura baluensis, Thomas, 1898
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870088 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A079-8715-FA16-AF7F1AE6F264 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura baluensis |
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Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura baluensis View in CoL
French: Crocidure du Kinabalu / German: Kinabalu-WeiRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Kinabalu
Other common names: Kinabalu Shrew
Taxonomy. Crocidura (Crocidura) baluensis Thomas, 1898 View in CoL ,
“ Mount Kima Balu [= Gunung Kinabalu] ,” Sabah, Malaysia.
Lord Medway in 1965 and P. D. Jenkins in 1982 considered it a subspecies of C. fuligi- nosa, given that it presents a certain size gradient correlated with altitude. It was later regarded as a distinct species by J. Payne and colleagues in 1985, by G. B. Corbet and J. E. Hill in 1992, and by M. Ruedi in 1995, based on the discrete vari-
ation of some diagnostic characters. Future molecular studies will test the validity of this species. Monotypic.
Distribution. Confined to the upper slopes of Mt Kinabalu, although one damaged skull from Sarawak could represent this species. This would extend its range further S to other high mountains of Borneo, butit is unlikely, given the currently negative results in other high mountains of Sabah that have been sampled. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 90-110 mm, tail 62-85 mm, hindfoot 15-2-18-5 mm; weight 13-19 g. The Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew is one of the largest shrews of South-east Asia. It can be externally distinguished from other sympatric shrews by its large size (head-body length more than 90 mm), which sets it apart from all Bornean species other than the Bornean White-toothed Shrew (C. foetida ) and Bornean Water Shrew ( Chimarrogale phaeura ). From the Bornean White-toothed Shrew it can be distinguished by an absolutely and relatively longer hindfoot (usually more than 16 mm) and longer mid-dorsal fur (8-10 mm), coarse scales on the tail, and the faint contrast between blackish, light-tipped dorsal fur and moresilvery ventral parts; the skull is also larger and more robust in the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew. As compared with the Bornean Water Shrew, the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew lacks silvery guard hairs on the hindquarters, as well as the fringes of white stiff hairs on the feet.
Habitat. Recorded at 1676-3657 m. Due to the general confusion with the Bornean White-toothed Shrew and lack of precision on the original labels, the lower altitudinal limit of the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew and exact altitudinal segregation between these two species is as yet unclear. Intensive shrew sampling on Mount Kinabalu at 1550 m did not record the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew. Reported in very damp, thick, tall and mossy forest, but also in areas where trees are low and bushy such as Leptospermum sp. This habitat is replaced at higher elevations by an area of stunted vegetation in which the forest is more open, drier and much less mossy; and at the upper limit of the species, by bush-size trees, rhododendrons, sedges, and some conifers.
Food and Feeding. Two stomachs had remains of insects such as cockroaches and a cricket. Diet of the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew might overlap with that of the syntopic Short-tailed Gymnure ( Hylomys suillus ).
Breeding. Little is known about the breeding ecology of the Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew, but a pregnant female was recorded with three embryos which together weighed 2 g.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. This assessment was based on several misconceptions: that it had a wider range that originally thought (but the species has only been confirmed on Mount Kinabalu); that it has been found in a variety of habitats (it has only been recorded in primary montane forest); that it is found within Kinabalu Park; and that it faces no major threats (as with most high mountain endemics,its habitat is threatened by climate change). The Kinabalu White-toothed Shrew was considered vulnerable in previous assessments, and it should remain with that status. In Sabah,it is a protected species.
Bibliography. Camacho-Sanchez & Hinckley (2016), Clayton & Kennerley (2016), Coolidge (1940), Corbet & Hill (1992), Griswold (1939a, 1939b), Hawkins et al. (2018), Hinckley et al. (2016), Jenkins (1982), Lim & Heyneman (1968), Medway (1965), Payne et al. (1985), Ruedi (1995), Thomas (1898).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
