Sorex mutabilis (Merriam, 1898)

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 : 412

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869686

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A03B-8757-FF20-AA5D16D0F979

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Sorex mutabilis
status

 

48. View Plate 15: Soricidae

Mutable Shrew

Sorex mutabilis

French: Musaraigne variable / German: Variable Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafia mudable

Taxonomy. Sorex saussurei mutabilis Merriam, 1898 View in CoL ,

“ Reyes [= Cerca de Cuicatlan] , Oaxaca, Mexico.” Restricted by L. N. Carraway in 2007 to “latitude 17-22°N, longitude 96-83°W.” GoogleMaps

Sorex mutabilis is generally included as a subspecies of S. veraepacis but is recognized here as a distinct species. In a genetic study by M. Esteva and colleagues in 2010, specimens attributed to S. mutabilis did not cluster with other S. veraepacis , indicating thatthey are distinct species, although more focused studies involving S. mutabilis are needed to verify this. Distributional limits between S. mutabilis and S. ixtlanensis are currently uncertain. Monotypic.

Distribution. Guerrero and Oaxaca, S Mexico. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 61-76 mm, tail 48-61 mm, hindfoot 13-16 mm; weight 6 g. The Mutable Shrew is medium-sized,similar to the Verapaz Shrew (S. veraepacis ). Dorsum is dark reddish brown, and venter is lighter reddish brown. Tail is ¢.80% of head-body length and uniformly dark reddish brown. Median tines of I' are well pigmented, and I is pigmented in three sections. Teeth are pigmented dark red. There are five unicuspids,first and second are largest, third is usually smaller than fourth, and fifth is very small.

Habitat. Pine-oak cloud forests with deep leaflitter at elevations of ¢.700-3000 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Until being named a distinct species here, the Mutable Shrew was included in the Verapaz Shrew (S. ver aepacis), which is classified as Least Concern. The Mutable Shrew might be at risk from localized habitat destruction, but additional research is needed.

Bibliography. Carraway (2007, 2014l), Esteva et al. (2010), Matson & Ordénez-Garza (2017).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Soricomorpha

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Sorex

Loc

Sorex mutabilis

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson 2018
2018
Loc

Sorex saussurei mutabilis

Merriam 1892
1892
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