Crocidura afeworkbekelei, Voyta & Hutterer, 2016
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6870295 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A059-8735-FAFA-AE91151CF333 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Crocidura afeworkbekelei |
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Bekele’s White-toothed Shrew
French: Crocidure de Bekele / German: Bekele-WeiRRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Bekele
Other common names: Bekele's Shrew
Taxonomy. Crocidura afeworkbekelei Lavrenchenko, Voyta & Hutterer, 2016 ,
“ Konteh Area of the Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountains National Park , south-eastern Ethiopia, 06°51’N, 039°53’E, 4050 m a.s.1.” GoogleMaps
This species has the same karyotype as most of the other Ethiopian montane endemics, indicating that they may have originated from a widespread species which had populations that became sepa-
rate in montane parts of the region and diversified into the current array of species. The karyoptype also indicates that African Crocidura may have come from a Palearctic branch of the genus, based on its similarity to the proposed ancestral karyotype of Crocidura . Monotypic.
Distribution. Known only from the Konteh Area of the Sanetti Plateau in SC Ethiopia; it remains possible that this recently described species inhabits other parts of the plateau as well, although it is likely endemic to the Bale Mts. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 78-85 mm, tail 43-48 mm, ear 8-5-10 mm, hindfoot (with claws) 16-3-17 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Bekele’s White-toothed Shrew is a relatively small white-toothed shrew with a moderately short tail (50-6-61-5% of head-body length). Dorsal pelage grayish brown, with hairs gray at base and brown at tip; ventral pelage gray, with hairs gray at base, paleyellowish at tip. Dorsal surface of forefoot pale gray, hindfoot (19-21-7% of headbody length) yellowish-gray. Tail brown above and brownish gray below, but the distinction is not very strong; long bristle hairs are present all over the tail. Skull with a moderately short, broad rostrum and relatively broad maxillary and interorbital regions; medial tip of the posterior margin of the nasal aperture is absent; lacrimal foramenis at height of the M'-M?joint; mandible with a moderately broad body and a high and massive ramus. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement is 2n = 36, FNa = 50.
Habitat. Found in the Afro-alpine belt with short, sparse vegetation at an elevation of c.4050 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. No information.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. Bekele’s White-toothed Shrew was only recently described based on specimens collected in 1995. It seems to have a restricted distribution but may not face any major threats, other than climate change, dueto its very isolated habitat at high elevations.
Bibliography. Lavrenchenko et al. (2016).
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.
