Blarinella griselda, Thomas, 1912

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 : 446-447

143.

Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew

Blarinella griselda

French: Musaraigne griselda / German: Indochina-Kurzschwanzspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafa colicorta de Indochina

Taxonomy. Blarinella griselda Thomas, 1912 ,

“42 miles [= 68 km] S.E. of Tao-chou [Gansu, northwestern China]. 10,000’ [= 3048 m].”

Blarinella griselda was included in B. quad- raticauda as a subspecies. Taxonomy of B. gniselda is problematic, and there are probably undescribed species. All information is based on current taxonomy. Species boundary between B. wardi and B. gniselda is not entirely clear. Monotypic.

Distribution. C & SW China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Yunnan, and Guizhou) and N Vietnam.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 52-74 mm, tail 31-42 mm, hindfoot 8-5-14 mm; weight 8 g. Condylo-incisive lengths are 19-20-9 mm, and tooth rows are 7-8-8:7 mm. The Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew is similar to the Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew ( B. quadraticauda ) but smaller and with relatively shorter tail. Dorsal pelage

is mousey gray, and ventral pelage is paler. Most teeth are heavily pigmented, which is most obvious on upper incisors. Skull is robust, and braincase is high. It has five upper unicuspids, and second upper unicuspid is intermediate in size between first and third. Number of upper unicuspids visible in lateral view is four in most specimens.

Habitat. Forested habitats at elevations of 1300-3300 m. The Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew has been caught in broad-leaved, conifer, and bamboo forests but never in anthropogenic habitats.

Food and Feeding. The Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew is insectivorous. In captivity, it prefers raw meat rather than mealworms.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Most Indochinese Short-tailed Shrews were captured at night. They are semi-fossorial and good diggers. In captivity, they usually dig holes for resting.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Indochinese Short-tiled Shrew is aggressive and attacks small mammals, including conspecifics.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew has a wide distribution. Anthropogenic activities including deforestation could affectits distribution at lower elevations, resulting in future populations decline.

Bibliography. Bannikova et al. (2017), Chen Shunde et al. (2012), Jiang Xuelong et al. (2003).

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. C & SW China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Yunnan, and Guizhou) and N Vietnam.