Crocidura trichura Dobson in Thomas 1888

Crocidura trichura Dobson in Thomas 1888, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1888: 532.

Type Locality: Australia, Christmas Isl.

Vernacular Names: Christmas Island Shrew.

Distribution: Christmas Isl.

Conservation: IUCN – not listed, but should be Endangered [EN B1+2c].

Discussion: Included in C. attenuata until recently. Ruedi (1995) studied 11 specimens and concluded that they were different from C. attenuata, a conclusion with which I concur. Surveys conducted on Christmas Isl to determine the status of the shrew (Meek, 2000) were not successful; the most recent specimens were found in 1985. C. trichura was common in 1900 (Andrews, 1900) but already rare in 1909 (Andrews, 1909). It is most likely that C. trichura formed part of the endemic mammal fauna of the Christmas Isl, along with Rattus nativitatis and R. macleari, both of which are now extinct (Meek, 2000).