Cryptotis berlandieri (Baird, 1858)

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 332-551 : 431

100 .

Berlandier’s Least Shrew

Cryptotis berlandieri

French: Musaraigne de Berlandier / German: Berlandier-Kleinohrspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana minima de Berlandier

Other common names: Berlandier's Shrew

Taxonomy. Blarina berlandieri Baird, 1858 ,

“ Matamoras [= Matamoros] ,” Tamaulipas, Mexico. Restricted by L. N. Carraway in 2007 to “latitude 25-91°N, longitude 97-5°W.”

Cryptotis berlandieri has generally been considered a subspecies of C. parvus but here is recognized as a distinct species in the C. parvus group, although somewhat tentatively based primarily on limited morphological and genetic data. L. Gue-

vara and F. A. Cervantes in 2014 found that C. berlandieri wassister to C. pueblensis with small genetic distance, indicating that these two species might be conspecific. In the same study, C. parvus wassister to the clade containing the two species with large genetic distance similar to that of other related species of Cryptotis , although they were all retained as subspecies of C. parvus with mention of their possible specific status. Boundary between C. berlandieri and C. parvus is somewhat uncertain. Traditional distribution of C. berlandieri includes southern Texas, but S. J. Hutchinson in 2010 found that Texan and north-eastern Mexican populations were morphometrically similar to C. parvus based on seven cranial measurements. He also concluded that C. berlandier: was better treated as a subspecies of C. parvus, but no specimens representing the species were tested genetically, and additional morphometric studies are needed to validate this. Additional research with more specimens is needed to validate the true relationship and distribution of C. berlandieri and the entire C. parvus group, but until additional studies are conducted, C. berlandieri is considered a distinct species, distributed in southern Texas and northern to central Mexico. Pleistocene fossil remains of this species have been found in south-eastern Chihuahua. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Texas (SC USA) and Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, Nayarit, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacan (Mexico).

Descriptive notes. Head-body ¢.53-70 mm, tail 17 mm (tail length from holotype), hindfoot 10-12 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Berlandier’s Least Shrew is the smallest member of the C. parvus group. Dorsum is light to medium brown, and venter is medium silver gray, with white hair tips, being more silvery distally. Forefeet are relatively broad, with short broad claws; feet are small and dusky in color. Tail is short (less than 45% of head-body length), covered with short hair, brown above, and slightly lighter below. Eyes are diminutive, and ears are small and barely visible under fur. Berlandier’s Least Shrew can be distinguished from the Puebla Least Shrew (C. pueblensis) and the Mexican Least Shrew (C. soricinus) by its lighter dorsum and silvery venter. Unlike other least shrews (C. parvus group), fourth unicuspid of Berlandier’s Least Shrew can be either somewhat obscured or completely visible in lateral view of skull. Skull is typical of other least shrews (detailed under the North American Least Shrew, C. parvus). Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids.

Habitat. Various habitats, including rocky grass fields near marshes, mesic woodlands, tropical deciduousforests, humid tropical forests, and agriculturalfields, with occasional records from fish hatcheries and pastures, from sea level to elevations of ¢.2750 m.

Food and Feeding. Berlandier’s Least Shrew is carnivorous, feeding on a variety of invertebrates and, on occasion, vertebrates.

Breeding. In Michoacan, a lactating Berlandier’s Least Shrew was captured in June; a female with four young was captured in a nest in April; and two pregnant females, one with three embryos and another with six embryos, were captured in July and May, respectively.

Activity patterns. Berlandier’s Least Shrew is semi-fossorial and probably most active throughout the night.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Berlandier’s Least Shrews are probably as social as the North American Least Shrew.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Berlandier’s Least Shrew has a large distribution and seems to adapt well to habitat degradation, although very little is known ofits ecology and threats; additional studies are needed.

Bibliography. Carraway (2007), Castro-Arellano (2014a), Choate (1970), Hutchinson (2010), Guevara & Cervantes (2014).

Figures

On following pages: 90. Grizzled Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis obscurus); 91. Phillips's Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis phillipsii); 92. Eastern Cordillera Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis brachyonyx); 93. Colombian Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis colombianus); 94. Honduran Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis hondurensis); 95. Darien Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis merus); 96. Blackish Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis nigrescens); 97. Lacandona Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis lacandonensis); 98. Yucatan Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis mayensis); 99. Merriam'’s Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis merriami); 100. Berlandier’s Least Shrew (Cryptotis berlandieri); 101. Central American Least Shrew (Cryptotis orophilus); 102. North American Least Shrew (Cryptotis parvus); 103. Puebla Least Shrew (Cryptotis pueblensis); 104. Mexican Least Shrew (Cryptotis soricinus); 105. Tropical Least Shrew (Cryptotis tropicalis); 106. Popocatepetl Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis alticola); 107. Goldman's Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis goldmani); 108. Oaxacan Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis peregrinus); 109. Talamancan Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis gracilis); 110. Santa Barbara Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis cavatorculus); 111. Celaque Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis celague); 112. Dark Mexican Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis griseoventris); 113. Omoa Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis mccarthy); 114. Muscular Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis lacertosus); 115. Honduran Broad-Clawed Shrew (Cryptotis magnimana); 116. Mam Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis mam); 117. Goodwin's Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis goodwini); 118. Highland Broad-clawed Shrew (Cryptotis oreoryctes); 119. Monteverde Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis monteverdensis); 120. Enders’s Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis endersi); 121. Aroa Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis aroensis); 122. Thomas's Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis thomasi); 123. Dinira Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis dinirensis), 124. Venezuelan Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis venezuelensis), 125. Merida Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis meridensis); 126. Tama Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis tamensis); 127. Perija Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis perijensis); 128. Medellin Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis medellinius); 129. Western Colombian Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis squamipes); 130. Ecuadorean Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis equatoris); 131. Osgood's Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis osgoodi); 132. Wandering Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis montivagus); 133. Blind Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis niausa); 134. Evaristo's Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis evaristoi); 135. Peruvian Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis peruviensis).

Distribution. S Texas (SC USA) and Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, Nayarit, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacan (Mexico).