Feroculus feroculus
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869972 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A068-8705-FAFF-A3161353FA42 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Feroculus feroculus |
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Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrew
Feroculus feroculus View in CoL
French: Pachyure de Kelaart / German: Kelaart-Langkrallenspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de unas largas de Kelaart
Other common names: Kelaart's Shrew
Taxonomy. Sorex feroculus Kelaart, 1850 View in CoL ,
Nuwara Eliya , central mountains at 6000 ft. (= 1829 m), Sri Lanka.
Similar to Solisorex , phylogenetic position of Feroculus is uncertain, and a recent phy- logenetic study placed it in Suncus sister to a clade including S. dayi , S. murinus , and S. stoliczkanus , although morphologically Feroculus has an uncanny resemblance to Sylvisorex . In 1997, a population was discovered in southern India that was one of the
first records of the species outside of Sri Lanka, although its presence in the Palni Hills of southern India was mentioned by W. T. Blanford in 1888. These disjunct populations potentially represent distinct species, although no taxonomic studies have been performed on either Feroculus or Solisorex in recent times. Monotypic.
Distribution. C highlands of Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of S India. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 98-118 mm, tail 65-73 mm, ear 8-10 mm, hindfoot 19-20 mm. Nospecific data are available for body weight. Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrew is a large (smaller than Pearson’s Long-clawed Shrew, Solisorex pearsoni ) and unique
semi-fossorial shrew, with thick soft glossy pelage. Indian specimens are smaller, with proportionally longer tails. Dorsum is dark slate or ashy blackish brown (appearing somewhat bluish), and venter is a little lighter than dorsum. Chin and lowerlip are pale gray. Tail is ¢.50-65% of head-body length,fully furred with scattered long hairs, dark brown, and with white tip. Ears are short and barely go past fur; eyes are small. Forefeet are very long and nearly white, and they have long broad claws that are reddish, becoming white at tip. Hindfeet are medium gray and also have long claws. Incisors have two lobes on cutting edges that incline forward (two lobed similar to Sylvisorex ). Skull is narrow and not inflated. Dental formula is 13/2, C1/0,P 2/1,M 3/3 (x2) = 30. There are four unicuspids, with fourth being the smallest, and there is no pigmentation on white teeth.
Habitat. Montane forests, swamps, and marshes at elevations of 1850-2400 m.
Food and Feeding. Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrew is probably carnivorous. A captive individual fed voraciously on earthworms. Stomach contents of one specimen contained only vegetable material, which wasstrange for a shrew. Trapped specimens were attracted to meat and coconut.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrew is semi-fossorial based on its long claws.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Extent of occurrence of Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrew is probably less than 5000 km? and area of occupancy is probably less than 500 km?®. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is a continuing decline in extent and quality of its montane habitat. Kelaart’s Long-clawed Shrews have been found in Eravikulam National Park in Kerala (India) and Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka). They are largely threatened by agricultural and urban development that can potentially disturb or destroy restricted habitat. Virtually nothing is known ofthis unique lineage, and additional studies are needed.
Bibliography. Blanford (1888), Meegaskumbura et al. (2014), Molur et al. (2008b), Phillips (1980), Pradhan et al. (1997).
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.
