54.

Mexican Long-tailed Shrew

Sorex oreopolus

French: Musaraigne fantéme / German: Vulkan-Langschwanzspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de cola larga de México

Other common names: \/ olcano Shrew

Taxonomy. Sorex oreopolus Merriam, 1892,

“ Sierra de Colima, Jalisco, Mexico (altitude, 10,000 feet [= 3048 m]).” Restricted by L. N. Carraway in 2007 to “latitude 19-55°N, longitude 103-63°W.”

Sorex oreopolus is in the S. oreopolus group along with S. fumeus, S. tenellus, S. nanus, S. orizabae, and S. ventralis . The S. oreopolus group seemsto be closestto the S. veraecrucis group and in subgenus Otisorex. Monotypic.

Distribution. Jalisco, México, Distrito Federal, Morelos, Tlaxcala, and Puebla, EC & SC Mexico.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 53-66 mm, tail 35-46 mm, ear 5-7 mm, hindfoot 12-5-14 mm; weight 5 g. The Mexican Long-tailed Shrew is medium-sized. Dorsum is dark brown, and venter is grayish brown. Tail is c.60-70% of head-body length and slightly bicolored, being dark brown above and slightly lighter below. I' has median tine located above pigmentation, and I, has two denticles, deep interdenticular space, pigmentation on one section, and long strip of pigmentation on anteromedial edge. Teeth are pigmented dark red. There are five unicuspids, third is smaller than first, second, and fourth, andfifth is significantly smaller than the rest. Teeth are pigmented dark red.

Habitat. Montane pine-oak-fir forests and tussock grasslands at elevations of ¢.2500 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 Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Mexican Long-tailed Shrew is found in Iztaccthuatl-Popocatépetl National Park and is threatened by deforestation outside the Park.

Bibliography. Alvarez-Castaneda et al. (2017a), Carraway (2007), Castro-Arellano (2014b), Esteva et al. (2010).