363.

Mauritanian White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura lusitania

French: Crocidure de Mauritanie / German: Mauretanien-Weifdzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Mauritania

Other common names: Mauritanian Shrew

Taxonomy. Crocidura lusitania Dollman, 1915, Trarza country, Mauritania.

Based on recent genetic studies, C. lusi- tania seems to be sister to an unnamed species of Crocidura in a clade including C. crenata, C. fuscomurina, C. crossei, and C. jouvenetae . Monotypic.

Distribution. S Morocco and N Western Sahara, and from S Mauritania and Senegal E to W Niger and NW Nigeria, along with two highly isolated records in NW Eritrea and NC Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 45-68 mm, tail 29-37 mm, ear 5-8 mm, hindfoot 9-10 mm; weight 3-5-1 g. The Mauritanian White-toothed Shrew is very small to small, with very short pelage. Dorsum is cinnamon-brown, and venter is pure white (in Nigeria) to grayish (through much of the rest of the distribution). Lips, chin, throat, and feet are white. Hindfeet are short. Tail is ¢.56% of head-body length, very hairy, covered with longer bristle hairs, and bicolored, being ashy gray above and white below. Skull is very small and flat, with flat braincase; rostrum is short and broad; third unicuspid is broader than second; and M,is very small. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 38 and FN = 64.

Habitat. Tree and bush savannas and cultivated fields in Senegal and sandy areas and coastal dunes along coasts. Mauritanian White-toothed Shrews have been found living in termite mounds.

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 Mauritanian White-toothed Shrew has a wide distribution and is considered common throughout much ofits distribution, with no major threats. It occurs in Awash National Park in Ethiopia.

Bibliography. Cassola (2016am), Cornette et al. (2015), Granjon & Duplantier (2013), Granjon et al. (2002), Hutterer (1986f), Maddalena & Ruedi (1994), Sidiyene (1989), Vogel et al. (2013), Yalden et al. (1996).