Crocidura kornfeldi Temporal range: | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Family: | Soricidae |
Genus: | Crocidura |
Species: | †C. kornfeldi |
Binomial name | |
†Crocidura kornfeldi Kormos, 1934 | |
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. [1] [2] [3]
C. kornfeldi went extinct early in the Pleistocene, disappearing from the Iberian Peninsula around the boundary between the Early and Middle Pleistocene, [4] possibly due to competition with newly-arriving species such as the modern greater white-toothed shrew (C. russula), lesser white-toothed shrew (C. suaveolens), and bicolored shrew (C. leucodon). However, the extant Cretan shrew (C. zimmermanni) bears a very close morphological similarity to C. kornfeldi, and for this reason may be a relict descendant of C. kornfeldi. [1]
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.
The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.
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.
The Cyrenaica shrew or Alexander's shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae which is endemic to Libya.
Güldenstädt's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the lesser white-toothed shrew, but more recent studies support it being a distinct species. It is named after Johann Anton Güldenstädt.
The bicolored shrew or bicoloured white-toothed shrew 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.
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".
The Cretan shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Crete, Greece. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland, and the animal is threatened by habitat loss. It is found in the mountainous highlands of Crete, having been displaced from lower altitudes by the lesser white-toothed shrew.
Asoriculus is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae and tribe Nectogalini, native to Europe and North Africa.
The Chinese white-toothed shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae.
Crocidura sapaensis is a species of white-toothed shrew native to northern Vietnam. It was first described in 2013 and its specific name derives from the Sa Pa where it was discovered.
Nesiotites is an extinct genus of large red-toothed shrews belonging to the tribe Nectogalini known from the latest Miocene/Early Pliocene to Holocene of the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca.
Crocidura kegoensis, also known as the Ke Go shrew or Ke Go white-toothed shrew, is a species of shrew in the genus Crocidura described in 2004. It is smaller than other Crocidura species known from Vietnam, brownish-grey in colour with black markings on the muzzle. Its hair is short. The holotype was found in the Ke Go Nature Reserve, in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province, at an altitude of about 200 m.
Sonnerat's shrew is a species of shrew that was first described by Pierre Sonnerat from Pondicherry somewhere in 1813.
The Indochinese shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew native to Southeast Asia. It was first identified in 1922 by Herbert C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss. The species is often taxonomized as a subspecies Horsfield's shrew, but bears a different range, occurring in Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Yunnan province of China.
The Phu Hoc shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew native to the island of Phú Quốc, Vietnam. The species was first described by Abramov et al. in 2008. The species' haplogroup is most closely related to the Southeast Asian shrew and C. dracula.
The Narcondam shrew is a white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Narcondam Island, a small, remote, volcanic island situated in Andaman Sea and considered part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. It was discovered in April 2020 and was described about a year later in 2021.
The Fingui white-toothed shrew or Principe white-toothed shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe.
Sokolov's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Vietnam.
Mikhail Zaitsev's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Vietnam.