Bicolored shrew

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Bicolored shrew
Crocidura leucodon.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Crocidura
Species:
C. leucodon
Binomial name
Crocidura leucodon
(Hermann, 1780)
Bicolored Shrew area.png
Bicolored shrew range
Synonyms

Sorex leucodonHermann, 1780

The bicolored shrew or bicoloured white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in eastern, central and southern Europe and in western Asia. It is a nocturnal species and feeds on insects and other small creatures. Several litters of young are born during the warmer months of the year in a nest of dry grasses in a concealed location.

Contents

Description

The bicoloured white-toothed shrew has a head and body length of 2.5 to 3.5 inches (64 to 89 mm) and a tail length of 2.5 to 3.5 inches (64 to 89 mm). It weighs about 7 to 13 grams (0.25 to 0.46 oz). The upperside is covered in short, dense dark brown fur and the underside is white, with a sharp dividing line between the two colours. The muzzle is long and pink, the teeth are white and the ears project through the hair. The tail is sparsely covered in slightly longer hairs. Young animals are rather paler in colour. These shrews often emit a shrill twittering chatter. [2]

Distribution and habitat

The bicoloured white-toothed shrew is found in eastern, central and southern Europe but not south western France, the Iberian Peninsula or southern Italy. It is also native to the Crimea, the Caucasus, Turkestan and Iran. In the Alps it is found at altitudes of up to 3,300 feet (1,000 m). The habitat of this shrew is pastureland, cultivated fields, gardens, hedgerows, piles of rubble and rubbish heaps. It sometimes seeks shelter in buildings in winter and avoids damp locations. [2]

Behaviour

The bicoloured white-toothed shrew is mainly nocturnal, emerging at dusk but remaining hidden in a cranny or the burrow of some other small animal by day. It is not as active as shrews in the genus Sorex . It is a carnivore, and feeds on insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates and occasionally on small vertebrates. [2]

Breeding takes place between April and September and there may be two to four litters in a year. A nest of dried grasses is constructed in a concealed position, and a litter of three to nine young are born after a thirty one-day gestation period. The young grow rapidly, suckle for about twenty six days, and become sexually mature at forty days. [2]

When danger threatens, one of a family of young shrews will grab its mother's fur near the base of her tail with its jaws, and one by one, the others will hold on to each other's tails in sequence until the whole family is linked together. The mother then rapidly leads them to safety with the young trailing along behind. [2] If the mother is lifted in the air, the young maintain their grip and dangle in a wriggling, furry chain. [3]

Research

The bicolored white-toothed shrew is a natural reservoir species for the Borna disease virus which is the causative agent of Borna disease, a meningoencephalitis of sheep, horses, [4] and other warm-blooded animals including birds, cattle and cats, [5] and may have links to psychiatric disorders in humans and be a hazard to man. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrew</span> Family of mammals

Shrews are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders.

Borna disease, also known as sad horse disease, is an infectious neurological syndrome of warm-blooded animals, caused by Borna disease viruses 1 and 2 (BoDV-1/2). BoDV-1/2 are neurotropic viruses of the species Mammalian 1 orthobornavirus, and members of the Bornaviridae family within the Mononegavirales order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-toothed shrew</span> Subfamily of mammals

The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern short-tailed shrew</span> Species of mammal

The northern short-tailed shrew is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning "short tail".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser white-toothed shrew</span> Species of mammal

The lesser white-toothed shrew is a small species of shrew with a widespread distribution in Africa, Asia and Europe. Its preferred habitat is scrub and gardens and it feeds on insects, arachnids, worms, gastropods, newts and small rodents, though its diet usually varies according to the biotope where it lives. The closely related Asian lesser white-toothed shrew was once included in this species, but is now considered to be a separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater white-toothed shrew</span> Species of mammal

The greater white-toothed shrew is a small insectivorous mammal found in Europe and North Africa. It is the most common of the white-toothed shrews. This species is found along the Mediterranean, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Portugal; in addition, the Osorio shrew of the Canary island of Gran Canaria, originally described as a separate species, was later discovered to be a population of introduced greater white-toothed shrew. Furthermore, a subspecies of the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula ibicensis, is found on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. In April 2008, the greater white-toothed shrew was discovered in Ireland as well. Its preferred habitats are grassland and woodland. It is slightly larger than the lesser white-toothed shrew but otherwise very similar and can often be distinguished only by close inspection of its teeth which are unpigmented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray four-eyed opossum</span> Species of marsupial

The gray four-eyed opossum is an opossum species from Central and South America, ranging from southern Mexico to Peru, Bolivia and southwestern Brazil, at altitudes from sea level to 1600 m, but generally below 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Its habitats include primary, secondary and disturbed forest. It is one of many opossum species in the order Didelphimorphia and the family Didelphidae.

<i>Crocidura</i> Genus of mammals

The genus Crocidura is one of nine genera of the shrew subfamily Crocidurinae. Members of the genus are commonly called white-toothed shrews or musk shrews, although both also apply to all of the species in the subfamily. With over 180 species, Crocidura contains the most species of any mammal genus. The name Crocidura means "woolly tail", because the tail of Crocidura species are covered in short hairs interspersed with longer ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrenaica shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Cyrenaica shrew or Alexander's shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae which is endemic to Libya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Sulawesi shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the central and northern provinces of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a fairly common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp musk shrew</span> Species of mammal native to African swamps

The swamp musk shrew, or musk shrew, is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It occurs in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is swamps, and it is a common species in suitable habitats, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature listing it as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-footed shrew</span> Species of mammal

The black-footed shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to northern and central Sulawesi, Indonesia where it lives on the floor of the tropical forests. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African giant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The African giant shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew. It also is known as, Mann's musk shrew, Euchareena's musk shrew, or Olivier's shrew. It is native to Africa, where it has a widespread distribution and occurs in many types of habitat. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, and heavily degraded former forest. In the Nile Valley it is found near human habitation, where it is considered to be a pest. It is a common species and is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian pygmy shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Egyptian pygmy shrew or sacred shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Egypt. Its natural habitat is arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss, partially caused by the construction of the Aswan Dam. They are 48–62 mm (1.9–2.4 in) in length and weigh 7 g (0.25 oz), making them one of the smallest shrews in Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi white-handed shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Sulawesi white-handed shrew or Temboan shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a fairly common species and the population seems stable so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitaker's shrew</span> Species of mammal

Whitaker's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Western Sahara, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rocky and sandy coasts. It is a fairly common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Island shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Christmas Island shrew, also known as the Christmas Island musk-shrew is an extremely rare or possibly extinct shrew from Christmas Island. It was variously placed as subspecies of the Asian gray shrew or the Southeast Asian shrew, but morphological differences and the large distance between the species indicate that it is an entirely distinct species.

<i>Tupaia</i> (mammal) Genus of mammals

Tupaia is a treeshrew genus in the family Tupaiidae that was first described by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1821. The name of this genus derives from the Malay word tupai meaning squirrel or small animal resembling a squirrel.

Crocidura kornfeldi is an extinct species of shrew that inhabited central and southern Europe between the Pliocene and Pleistocene. It is the first species of the widespread, extremely speciose genus Crocidura known with certainty to have colonized Europe. It is a widespread, well-documented species, with fossils known from Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and Crimea.

References

  1. Shenbrot, G.; Hutterer, R.; Kryštufek, B.; Yigit, N.; Mitsainas, G.; Palomo, L. (2021). "Crocidura leucodon". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T29651A197500630. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T29651A197500630.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Konig, Claus (1973). Mammals. Collins & Co. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-00-212080-7.
  3. Attenborough, David (1990). The Trials of Life. David Attenborough Publications. pp. 39–40. ISBN   9780002199124.
  4. Hilbe, Monika; Herrsche, Romana; Kolodziejek, Jolanta; Nowotny, Norbert; Zlinszky, Kati; Ehrensperger, Felix (2006). "Shrews as Reservoir Hosts of Borna Disease Virus". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 12 (4): 675–677. doi:10.3201/eid1204.051418. PMC   3294707 . PMID   16704819.
  5. Kamhieh S, Flower RL (June 2006). "Borna disease virus (BDV) infection in cats. A concise review based on current knowledge". Vet Q. 28 (2): 66–73. doi: 10.1080/01652176.2006.9695210 . PMID   16841569. S2CID   35691530.
  6. Rott, R.; Herzog, S.; Bechter, K.; Frese, K. (1991). "Borna disease, a possible hazard for man?". Archives of Virology. 118 (3–4): 143–9. doi:10.1007/BF01314025. PMID   2069502. S2CID   36530027.