Mount Kenya mole shrew

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Mount Kenya mole shrew
Surdisorex polulus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Surdisorex
Species:
S. polulus
Binomial name
Surdisorex polulus
Hollister, 1916
Mount Kenya Mole Shrew area.png
Mount Kenya mole shrew range

The Mount Kenya mole shrew (Surdisorex polulus) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to Mount Kenya in Kenya. Its natural habitat is tropical high-elevation bamboo and grassland, [1] particularly the bamboo-belt of Mount Kenya and the adjacent heath and grassland. [2]

The Mt. Kenya mole shrew is listed as vulnerable because it is known to only be found in a single location in highlands of Mount Kenya, though a closely related species, the Aberdare Mole Shrew, can be found on the nearby Aberdare range. [3] The habitat of the species is dense montane grassland. [1]

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Represented by a single specimen, the Mount Elgon mole shrew is a species of African mole shrew known to date only from the ericaceous zone of Mount Elgon in Western Kenya. In 1984, a specimen of the genus Surdisorex was collected on a footpath at 3,150 m (10,330 ft) of the Kenyan slope of Mount Elgon. It was described as the third member of the genus Surdisorex by Kerbis Peterhans in 2009. On the basis of skull length measurements, Surdisorex schlitteri is intermediate between S. norae and S. polulus in size. The scientific name honors Duane Schlitter, in recognition of his substantial contributions to the understanding of African small mammals and his longstanding support of Kenyan scientific research. The Mount Elgon mole shrew is listed as "data deficient" because it is only known from a single specimen.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kennerley, R. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Surdisorex polulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T21135A115160262. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T21135A22290384.en .
  2. Stuart, Chris; Stuart, Matilde (30 October 2018). Stuarts' Field Guide to National Parks & Game Reserves of East Africa. Penguin Random House South Africa. ISBN   9781775846253 . Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. Williams, John George; Arlott, Norman; Fennessy, R. (1981). A Field Guide to the National Parks of East Africa. Collins. p. 29. ISBN   9780002192156 . Retrieved 17 June 2022.