Myosorex okuensis, Heim de Balsac, 1968
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870583 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A0B0-87DD-FA29-A0D0179DFD2C |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Myosorex okuensis |
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Oku Mouse Shrew
French: Musaraigne de I'Oku / German: Oku-Mausspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana ratén de Oku
Taxonomy. Myosorex eisentrauti okuensis Heim de Balsac, 1968 View in CoL ,
Lake Oku , 2100 m, Mount Oku , Bamenda Highlands , Cameroon.
Previously included in M. eisentrauti , but now generally recognized as a distinct species. Monotypic.
Distribution. Bamenda Highlands, SW Cameroon. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 72-73 mm, tail 40-41 mm, ear 8 mm, hindfoot 12-13 mm; weight 11-12 g. The Oku Mouse Shrew is a smallish species of mouse shrew with relatively long, soft, dense pelage. Dorsal pelage is brownish black, the hairs dark blackish gray with dark brown tips; ventral pelage is similar or slightly paler than the dorsum, with a shot silk appearance. Ears are reduced and concealed by the pelage.
Feet are slightly pigmented with dark brown short hairs dorsally; claws are relatively long. Tail is medium-length (c.55% of head-body length) and dark brownish black. Braincase is high domed; I' is moderately long and hooked;first unicuspid is large, second and third smaller and subequal, while the fourth is minute; M? is medium-sized. There are four unicuspids.
Habitat. Found in montane primary forest at elevations of 1800-2300 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 Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Oku Mouse Shrew is known from very few specimens across a very small and severely fragmented distribution; its extent of occurrence is estimated to be ¢.9300 km®. It may be threatened by habitat destruction through logging operations and the conversion of land to agricultural use.
Bibliography. Heim de Balsac (1968b), Heim de Balsac & Meester (1977), Hutterer (2013ab), Kennerley (2016y).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
