12.

Shinto Shrew

Sorex shinto

French: Musaraigne shinto / German: Shinto-Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana sintoista

Taxonomy. Sorex shinto Thomas, 1905,

“ Makado, N. Hondo,” Japan.

Sorex shinto was recognized as a subspecies of S. caecutiens . These two taxa, together with S. sinalis, are closely related based on molecular phylogenetic studies, but species boundaries are not entirely clear. Nominotypical subspecies shinto includes chouei as a synonym. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

S.s.shintoThomas,1905—middleandhighmountainareasfromNtoCHonshu,Japan.

S.s.sadonisYoshiyuki&Imaizumi,1986—NSadoIandlowlandtohighmountainsinWcoastofHonshu,Japan.Geneticallynotdistinguishablefromsubspeciesshintoandmaybearecentinsularcolonization.

S. s. shikokensis Abe, 1967 — Ishizuchi and Tsurugi Mts, Shikoku, Japan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51-72:5 mm, tail 44-57 mm, hindfoot 11-4-13-6 mm; weight 4-1-6-2 g. Condylo-incisive lengths are 16-5-18-1 mm, and tooth rows are 3-9— 4-4 mm. The Shinto Shrew is similar to Laxmann’s Shrew ( S. caecutiens), but its body and craniodental sizes are smaller. It is similar to the Azumi Shrew (8. hosonoz) but has a relatively shortertail. When syntopic, the Shinto Shrew is usually larger than the Azumi Shrew. Dorsum of the Shinto Shrew is grayish brown. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 42 and FNa = 66. The Shinto Shrew is genetically close to Laxmann’s Shrew.

Habitat. Grasslands, shrublands, and coniferous forests in subalpine to alpine zone. On Honshu, the Shinto Shrew occurs near sea level in northern Honshu up to elevations of ¢.1200 m on Mount Honshu. In Sado Island, it was captured at ¢.300 m. On Shikoku Island,it is recorded from near the sea level to up to 900 m. In Nagano Prefecture of Honshu Island, it is syntopically distributed with the Azumi Shrew.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Female Shinto Shrews have been reported with 1-6 embryos. One to six embryos of nominotypical shinto from Honshu have been recorded in May-June. Subspecies sadonis had 4-6 embryos in March and May.

Activity patterns. Most Shinto Shrews were captured at night, but at elevations as high as 2800 m in Nagano; they are active during the day in November. The Shinto Shrew is terrestrial and well adapted to running on the ground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Shinto Shrew is currently considered to be common. Most ofits natural habitat in Japan is likely well protected.

Bibliography. Abe (1967), Ohdachi et al. (2009).