Sorex veraepacis, Alston, 1877
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869688 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A03B-8757-FF2B-AD8E161DF3A0 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Sorex veraepacis |
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Verapaz Shrew
French: Musaraigne de Verapaz / German: Verapaz-Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musaraia de Verapaz
Taxonomy. Sorex verae-pacis Alston, 1877 View in CoL ,
“ Coban (Vera Paz [= Alta Verapaz Department]), Guatemala.”
S. wveraepacis usually includes S. barra, S. chiapensis, and S. mutabilis, although recent genetic and morphometric studies have validated these forms as distinct species. Nevertheless additional morphometric studies are needed to validate S. mutabilis and additional genetic studies are needed to validate S. ibarrai and S. chiapensis. Monotypic.
Distribution. Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Huehuetenango Department, E to around Coban, Alta Verapaz Department, W & C Guatemala. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 67-78 mm, tail 45-57 mm, ear 5 mm, hindfoot 14— 16 mm; weight 6 g. The Verapaz Shrew is medium-sized. Dorsum is blackish brown, and venteris slightly paler. Tail is ¢.70% of head-body length and is essentially unicolored blackish brown. Braincase is slightly more inflated, and mandible and rostrum are longer than in Ibarra’s Shrew (S. ibarrai). Teeth are pigmented dark red. There are five unicuspids, first and second are largest,third is usually smaller than fourth, and fifth is very small.
Habitat. Montane cloud forests with deep leaflitter at elevations of 2680-3350 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. Reproduction of the Verapaz Shrew seems to be common during wet season.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. This assessment includes populations now attributed to Ibarra’s Shrew, the Chiapan Shrew (S. chiapensis), and the Mutable Shrew (S. mutabilis). Distribution of the Verapaz Shrew is relatively restricted, and it is threatened by habitat loss from agricultural and urban expansion.
Bibliography. Carraway (2007), Esteva et al. (2010), Matson & Ordéfez-Garza (2017).
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.
