Uropsilus huanggangensis Chen, Jiang & Ren, 2023

Ren, Xueyang, Xu, Yifan, Li, Yixian, Yao, Hongfeng, Fang, Yi, Khanal, Laxman, Cheng, Lin, Zeng, Wei, Jiang, Xuelong & Chen, Zhongzheng, 2023, A new species of shrew moles, genus Uropsilus Milne-Edwards, 1871 (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Talpidae), from the Wuyi Mountains, Jiangxi Province, eastern China, ZooKeys 1186, pp. 25-46 : 25

Uropsilus huanggangensis Chen, Jiang & Ren sp. nov.

Figs 4 , 5

Suggested common name.

Huanggang shrew mole; Chinese common name: 黄岗鼩鼹.

Type materials.

Holotype: AHNU 2022013, an adult male collected by Zhongzhen Chen in June 2022 from Mount Huanggang, Wuyishan National Park, Jiangxi Province, China (27°58'53"N, 117°47'2.4"E, altitude 2061 m a.s.l.). The dried skin and cleaned skull are deposited in ANHU. Paratypes: AHNU 2022014, AHNU 2022053, AHNU 2022054, and AHNU 2022055; 4 adult specimens collected from Mount Huanggang, Wuyishan National Park, Jiangxi Province, China at elevations between 1830 and 2060 m a.s.l. The specimens are deposited in AHNU.

Etymology.

The specific name Uropsilus huanggangensis is derived from Mount Huanggang, the type locality of the new species; the Latin adjectival suffix - ensis means "belonging to".

Diagnosis.

The dorsal pelage of U. huanggangensis is dark chocolate-brown. The snout is the longest of any species in the genus. The first incisor I1 is wide and shows an enlargement at the apex of the rostrum, with a visible gap to I2. C1 is larger than P1, and P1 and P3 are similar in size. Tail is slim and relatively short, averaging 86% of head and body length. The tufts at the tail tip are short. The lacrimal foramen and infraorbital foramen are similar in size. The coronoid process is pointed and converges more upward with an incisive tip. The dental formula is I 2/1, C1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 = 38.

Description.

Uropsilus huanggangensis is a medium-sized species of Uropsilus (HBL = 72 ± 1 mm, PL = 21.44 ± 0.47 mm; Table 2 ). The dorsal pelage is dark chocolate-brown, consisting of brown fur with a light grey base; the ventral fur is slightly paler. The snout is very long, at about 12 mm, and is the longest in the genus. The tail is slim and relatively short (TL = 63 ± 3 mm, 57-65 mm), about 86% of the combined head and body length. The tail is black above and slightly paler below, with a sparse tuft of short hair at its tip. The hind foot is covered with short black hair; its length is 13-14 mm and constitutes approximately 18% of the combined head and body length.

The outlines of the skull are rounded, and there is a complete zygomatic arch. The rostrum is relatively long, the braincase is narrow, and the proportion of GNB and PL is 51.8%, which is the smallest of any species in the genus (GNB/PL> 52.4% in other species). The zygomatic arches are stout and only slightly bow outward. The lacrimal foramen and infraorbital foramen are similar in size.

The dental formula is I 2/1, C1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 = 38. I1 is large and wide, causing the enlargement at the apex of the rostrum. I1 is bigger than I2, and there is a visible gap between them. C1 is almost equal to P1, while P3 is smaller. P2 is larger than P1 and P3. The first upper molar M1 and second upper molar M2 are large, and have well-developed, W-shaped lateral cusps. In contrast, the third upper molars M3 are reduced.

The body of the mandible is long and slender. The coronoid process is high, pointed, and curved to the posterior, with an incisive tip pointing straight to the posterior, resembling the outline of a sickle. The angular process is long, rounded, and points downward at roughly 45°. The first lower premolar (P1) is slightly smaller than the lower canine C1. P1 and P3 are similar in size. M2 is W-shaped and larger than M1 and M3. M3 is slightly smaller than M1 (Fig. 6 ).

Comparison.

Among other Uropsilus species, U. huanggangensis is morphologically most similar to U. dabieshanensis and U. gracilis . However, the new species can be distinguished from them by many characteristics.

Compared to U. dabieshanensis , U. huanggangensis has darker fur, a relatively longer and slimmer tail, and a much larger hindfoot and ear, despite that the heads and body lengths of the two species are almost the same (Table 2 ; Fig. 5 ). The tail of U. huanggangensis (TL = 63 ± 3 mm) is relatively longer than U. dabieshanensis (TL = 56 ± 3 mm). Most individuals of U. huanggangensis (4 of 5) have a tail length of more than 63 mm, while most individuals of U. dabieshanensis (5 of 6) have a tail length less than 57 mm. The hairs on the tail (bristle hairs) of U. huanggangensis are shorter and sparser than those in U. dabieshanensis , and the tufts at the tail tip of U. dabieshanensis appear much longer. The skull of U. huanggangensis is much slenderer than in U. dabieshanensis (Fig. 6 ), and the proportion of GNB and PL (CB / GLS = 53.96%) in U. dabieshanensis is greater than that in U. huanggangensis (GNB / PL = 51.80%). The coronoid process is pointed and curved to the posterior in U. huanggangensis , while the coronoid process of U. dabieshanensis is high and straight, with a squared tip.

Compared to U. gracilis , the dorsal pelage of U. huanggangensis is much darker. The snout of U. huanggangensis is longer, and the incisor is larger than that of U. gracilis . The tail of U. huanggangensis (TL/HBL = 86%) is relatively shorter than U. gracilis (TL / HBL = 91%) in proportion, and the tufts at the tail tip of U. huanggangensis are much shorter than those in U. gracilis . In terms of body size, U. huanggangensis is relatively larger than U. gracilis for most external and craniomandibular measurements (Table 2 ). In particular, the range of Id-Gol ( U. huanggangensis 12.90-13.03 mm vs U. gracilis 11.46-12.68 mm) between the two species does not overlap. The coronoid process of U. gracilis is high and squared, similar to that of U. dabieshanensis , but differs from that of U. huanggangensis .

Compared to U. atronates and U. nivatus , the dark chocolate-brown dorsal pelage of U. huanggangensis differs from the chestnut red of U. atronates and the black-gold pellage of U. nivatus . Meanwhile, U. huanggangensis is larger than both U. atronates and U. nivatus for most external and craniomandibular measurements (Table 2 ).

The pelage color of U. huanggangensis is dark chocolate-brown, which is much lighter than the black pelage of U. investigator . The ears of U. huanggangensis are relatively larger (EL = 9.20 ± 0.45 mm, range 9.00-10.00 mm) than that of the U. investigator (EL = 7.95 ± 0.98 mm, range 6.50-9.50 mm). The color of U. huanggangensis is uniform compared to the bicolored tail of U. investigator . Also, the P1 of U. investigator is larger than P3, while P1 and P3 of U. huanggangensis are similar in size.

Compared to the upward orbital process of U. fansipanensis , the orbital process of U. huanggangensis is downward. The lacrimal foramen of U. fansipanensis is larger than infraorbital foramen, while the two are of similar size in U. huanggangensis .

The dental formula of U. huanggangensis is I 2/1, C1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 = 38, which can be easily distinguished from U. soricipes (dental formula I 2/1, C 1/1, P 3/3, M 3/3 = 34), U. andersoni (dental formula I 2/2, C1/1, P 4/3, M 3/3 = 38), and U. aequodonenia (dental formula I 2/2, C 1/1, P 3/3, M 3/3 = 36).

Distribution and ecology.

Uropsilus huanggangensis is currently known only from the type locality on Mount Huanggang, Wuyishan National Park, Jiangxi Province, eastern China, where pecimens were collected at elevations between 1830 and 2060 m a.s.l. Coniferous forests and shrub meadows, with abundant rocks on the ground, dominate the habitat in this area.

Figures

Figure 4. Results of A principal component analysis (PCA) B discriminant function analysis (DA) for partial species with the same dental formula within the genus Uropsilus.

Figure 5. Dorsal and ventral views of three Uropsilus species A U. huanggangensis sp. nov. B U. gracilis C U. dabieshanensis.

Figure 6. Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of the skull and lateral views of the mandible of three Uropsilus species A U. huanggangensis sp. nov. B U. gracilis C U. dabieshanensis.