Suncus murinus (Linnaeus 1766)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Soricomorpha, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 220-311 : 260

Suncus murinus (Linnaeus 1766)

[Sorex] murinus Linnaeus 1766 , Syst. Nat., 12th ed., Vol. 1: 74.

Type Locality: Indonesia, Java.

Vernacular Names: Asian House Shrew.

Synonyms: Suncus albicauda ( Peters 1866) ; Suncus albinus ( Blyth 1860) ; Suncus andersoni (Trouessart 1879) ; Suncus auriculata (Fitzinger 1868) ; Suncus beddomei ( Anderson 1881) ; Suncus blanfordii (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus blythii (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus caerulaeus ( Kerr 1792) ; Suncus caerulescens ( Shaw 1800) ; Suncus caeruleus ( Kerr 1792) ; Suncus celebensis (Revilliod 1911) ; Suncus ceylanica (Peters 1870) ; Suncus crassicaudus (Lichtenstein 1834) ; Suncus duvernoyi (Fitzinger 1868) ; Suncus edwardsiana (Trouessart 1880) ; Suncus fulvocinerea (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus fuscipes (Peters 1870) ; Suncus geoffroyi (J. B. Fischer 1830) ; Suncus giganteus (Geoffroy 1831) ; Suncus grayii Motley and Dillwyn 1855 ; Suncus griffithi (Horsfield 1851) ; Suncus heterodon (Blyth 1855) ; Suncus indicus (Geoffroy 1811) ; Suncus kandianus (Kelaart 1852) ; Suncus kelaarti (Blyth 1855) ; Suncus kroonii (Kohlbrugge 1896) ; Suncus kuekenthali (Matschie 1901) ; Suncus leucura (Matschie 1894) ; Suncus luzoniensis (Peters 1870) ; Suncus malabaricus (Lindsay 1929) ; Suncus mauritiana (Reichenbach 1834) ; Suncus media (Peters 1870) ; Suncus microtis (Peters 1970) ; Suncus muelleri ( Jentink 1888) ; Suncus muschata (Hatori 1915) ; Suncus myosurus (Pallas 1785) ; Suncus nemorivagus ( Hodgson 1845) ; Suncus occultidens (Hollister 1913) ; Suncus palawanensis ( Taylor 1934) ; Suncus pealana (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus pilorides (Shaw 1796) ; Suncus riukiuana ( Kuroda 1924) ; Suncus rubicunda (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus sacer (Ehrenberg 1832) ; Suncus saturatior (Hodgson 1855) ; Suncus semmelicki Tate 1944 ; Suncus semmeliki Koller 1930 ; Suncus semmelinki ( Jentink 1888) ; Suncus seramensis Kitchener 1994 ; Suncus serpentarius (I. Geoffroy in Bélanger 1831) ; Suncus sindensis (Anderson 1877) ; Suncus soccatus ( Hodgson 1845) ; Suncus sonneratii (I. Geoffroy 1827) ; Suncus sumatranus (Peters 1870) ; Suncus swinhoei ( Blyth 1859) ; Suncus tytleri ( Blyth 1859) ; Suncus unicolor ( Jentink 1888) ; Suncus viridescens ( Blyth 1859) ; Suncus waldemarii (Peters 1870) .

Distribution: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Taiwan, Japan, continental and peninsular Indomalayan Region; introduced into Guam, the Maldive Isls, Philippines, and probably many other islands; introduced in historical times into coastal Africa ( Egypt to Tanzania), Madagascar, the Comores, Mauritius, and Réunion, and into coastal Arabia ( Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: A highly variable species with a number of genetically distinct populations that almost behave like semispecies ( Hasler et al., 1977; Rogatcheva et al., 2000; Yamagata et al., 1987; Yoshida, 1985). Chromosomes show Robertsonian polymorphism and vary geographically from 2n = 30 to 2n = 40 (Yosida, 1985). Forms with lower numbers are found in S India, Sri Lanka and peninsular Malaya. A number of laboratory strains have been established ( Oda et al., 1985). Much of the present distribution is the result of human agency ( Hutterer and Tranier, 1990). A clear allocation of all listed taxa to subspecies is not possible at this moment. Kitchener et al. (1994 b) discussed subspecies in the Sunda Isls and recognized murinus , muelleri and seramensis as distinct. However, they did not consider names such as edwardsiana from S Philippines that may have priority. African synonyms include albicauda , auriculata , crassicaudus , duvernoyi , leucura , mauritiana , sacer , and geoffroyi ; see Heim de Balsac and Meester (1977).