Chimarrogale himalayica (Gray, 1842)

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 : 455

175.

Himalayan Water Shrew

Chimarrogale himalayica

French: Chimarrogale de I'Himalaya / German: Himalaya-Wasserspitzmaus / Spanish: Musgano del Himalaya

Taxonomy. Crossopus himalayicus Gray, 1842 ,

“ India.”

Chimarrogale himalayica used to include leander as a synonym, which has been recognized as a valid species, and is characterized by high intraspecific genetic diversity but conservative craniodental morphology, so it could still contain undescribed species. Distributional boundary between subspecies himalayica and C. leander is entirely unclear; distribution of himalayica in

China might be limited to the south-west. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C.h.himalayicaGray,1842—widelydistributedinmiddletohighmountainsinSHimalaya(NW&NEIndia,Nepal,andBhutan),SWC.h.(SETibet[=Xizang],Sichuan,Yunnan,andprobablyGuizhouandGuangxi),NMyanmar,Laos,andN&CVietnam.

C. h. varennei Thomas, 1927 — S Vietnam (Kon Tum, Dak Lak, and Lam Dong provinces).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 96-129 mm, tail 62-98 mm, hindfoot 19-26 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 26-28-1 mm, and tooth rows are 11:2-12-8 mm. Dorsal pelage of the Himalayan Water Shrew is black, ventral surface is ash gray, and color changes gradually from dorsum to venter. Dorsum has scattered white-tipped guard hairs, especially on lateral sides and rump. Fringe of whitish hairs occurs along margins of forefeet and hindfeet and toes. Tail is bicolored, being blackish brown above and white below, covered by white hair. Ventral keel is present on tail. Braincase is bony, flattened, and enlarged in lateral view. There are three upper unicuspids. I' has long and robust apex and low talon (posterior cusp) that is obviously lower than first upper unicuspid. Cusps of teeth are unpigmented.

Habitat. Montane moderately swift rivers and clear fastflowing streams running through broad-leaved and premontane conifer forests at elevations of 610-3048 m. The Himalayan Water Shrew is sympatrically distributed with the Elegant Water Shrew (N. elegans ) in south-western China but at different elevations.

Food and Feeding. Himalayan Water Shrews have been recorded foraging for aquatic invertebrates.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Himalayan Water Shrew is semi-aquatic. It is presumably similar to the other species of Chimarrogale , swimming in rivers and streams and moving along their banks to higher ground. Most individuals were captured at night, and they have never been observed swimming during the day.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (including C. himalayica and C. leander ). In south-western China, the Himalayan Water Shrew occurs in several protected areas. The speciesis harvested for local medical purposes.

Bibliography. Hoffmann (1987), Yuan Shouli 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)

Subspecies and Distribution. C.h.himalayicaGray,1842—widelydistributedinmiddletohighmountainsinSHimalaya(NW&NEIndia,Nepal,andBhutan),SWC.h.(SETibet[=Xizang],Sichuan,Yunnan,andprobablyGuizhouandGuangxi),NMyanmar,Laos,andN&CVietnam. C. h. varennei Thomas, 1927 — S Vietnam (Kon Tum, Dak Lak, and Lam Dong provinces).