Chimarrogale hantu, Harrison, 1958

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 : 454-455

173.

Malayan Water Shrew

Chimarrogale hantu

French: Chimarrogale de Malaisie / German: Malayische Wasserspitzmaus / Spanish: Musgano de Malasia

Other common names: Asiatic Water Shrew, Hantu \ Water Shrew

Taxonomy. Chimarrogale hantu J. 1. Harrison, 1958 ,

“ banks of a stream at low altitude (under 1,000 ft. [= 305 m]) in the Ulu Langat Forest Reserve , Selangor, Malaya , about 20 km. east of Kuala Lumpur.”

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, and Selangorstates).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 85-121 mm, tail 86-102 mm, hindfoot 20-22 mm; weight 28-8-36 g. Condylo-incisive Tengths are 25-3-27-2 mm, and tooth rows are 11-7-12-6 mm.

Dorsal pelage of the Malayan Water Shrew is uniform dark gray to black, with silvery guard hair that is most conspicuous over hindquarters. Tail is uniformly grayish brown to dark brown, and underpart is covered with brown hair. Feet are brown, and toes are partially webbed. Fringe of whitish hair occurs along margins of forefeet and hindfeet and on toes. Skull is bony, and braincase is low and broad. Development of medial tines of upper incisors is variable. Cusps of teeth are unpigmented. There are three upper unicuspids.

Habitat. Wetlands and forest streams at elevations of 300-1676 m. Malayan Water Shrews also use riverbanks for resting, foraging, and nesting.

Food and Feeding. Based on stomach contents, the Malayan Water Shrew has a diverse diet of aquatic and terrestrial mollusks, freshwater prawns, millipedes and centipedes, earthworms, mole crickets, fish, frogs, larval caecilian, and possibly crabs. In captivity, it eats snails, cockroaches, and suckling mice.

Breeding. Based on data from two individuals, breeding season starts in May or earlier, and numbers of embryos are 2-3/female.

Activity patterns. The Malayan Water Shrew is semi-aquatic. It has occasionally been caught in fish traps, so it must be able to dive to depths of c.0-6 m. Captive individuals are active in the morning, afternoon, and evening and are found in nests at dusk; it might be active at night.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Malayan Water Shrews are highly sensitive to disturbance by intruders in their habitat including rats, small carnivores, and snakes. Nests are usually among rocks and boulders above banks of streams and have small entrances.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Near Threatened on The IUCN Red List. The Malayan Water Shrew occurs in not much more than 20,000 km?, which is heavily affected by human activities such as agriculture, plantations, and logging. Presumably, extent and quality of its habitat are declining.

Bibliography. Harrison (1958), Hoffmann (1987), Lim et al. (2013).

Figures

136. Elliot’s Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina hulophaga), 137. Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicaudus), 138. Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis), 139. Everglades Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina peninsulae), 140. Sherman’s Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina shermani), 141. Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella quadraticauda), 142. Burmese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella wardi), 143. Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella griselda), 144. Chinese Mole Shrew (Anourosorex squamaipes), 145. Taiwanese Mole Shrew (Anowrosorex yamashinai), 146. Assam Mole Shrew (Anowrosorex assamensis), 147. Giant Mole Shrew (Anourosorex schmid), 148. Desert Gray Shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi), 149. Cockrum’s Gray Shrew (Notiosorex cockrumi), 150. Large-eared Gray Shrew (Notiosorex evolis), 151. Villa’s Gray Shrew (Notiosorex villa), 152. Mexican Shrew (Megasorex gigas), 153. Taiwanese Brown-toothed (Shrew Epusoriculusfumidus), 154. Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus macrurus), 155. Bailey's Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus baileyi), 156. Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus leucops), 157. Hodgson’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus caudatus), 158. Sichuan Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus sacratus), 159. Hidden Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus umbrinus), 160. Nepalese Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus soluensis), 161. Himalayan Shrew (Soriculus nigrescens), 162. De Winton’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hypsibia), 163. Pygmy Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parva), 164. Smith’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa smithii), 165. Salenski’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa salenskii), 166. Dusky Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa furva), 167. Lesser Taiwanese Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa sodalis), 168. Van Sung’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa caovansunga), 169. Hoffmann’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hoffmanni), 170. Lowe’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parca), 171. Bornean Water Shrew (Chimarrogale phaeura), 172. Sumatran Water Shrew (Chimarrogale sumatrana), 173. Malayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale hantu), 174. Chinese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale styani), 175. Himalayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale himalayica), 176. Leander’s Water Shrew (Chimarrogale leander), 177. Japanese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale platycephala), 178. Elegant Water Shrew (Nectogale elegans), 179. Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus), 180. Transcaucasian Water (Shrew Neomysteres), 181. Eurasian Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens)

Distribution. Endemic to Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Pahang, and Selangorstates).