Asian gray shrew
The lashes shrew ( Crocidura attenuata ) is a shrew from the kind of white tooth shrew ( Crocidura ). It occurs in many parts of East and Southeast Asia.
Features
With a head-body length of 6.6 to 8.9 centimeters and a weight of about 6 to 12 grams of the eyelashes shrew is one of the medium-sized shrew species. The tail reaches a length from 41 to 60 millimeters and usually corresponds to 60 to 70 % of head-body length. The hind foot reaches a length of 13 to 16 millimeters, and the ear of 7-13 millimeters. The back fur is smoky brown to dark gray black, the ventral side, the staining gradually changed to a dark gray. The summer coat is slightly darker than the winter coat. The tail is dark brown on the top and on the bottom a little brighter, but not clearly contrasted.
The skull has a total length of 19 to 22 millimeters. Like all species of the genus has the kind in the maxilla per half an incisor ( incisor ) and then three unicuspid teeth, one premolar and three molars. In the mandible, it has, however, a single canine ( canine ) behind the incisor. Overall, the animals thus have a set of teeth from 28 teeth. The roots are not pigmented white, as in all tooth shrews in contrast to those of the Rotzahnspitzmäuse.
The genome of the eyelashes shrew was studied both in the island population on Taiwan as well as in Indiduen of mainland China. It could be found that the diploid chromosome set in mainland China from 2n = 35-38 (FN = 54 ) compared with 2n = 40 (FN = 56) to Taiwan. The Taiwanese form was collected on this basis in the species status as Crocidura tanakae.
Dissemination
The lashes shrew occurs in many parts of East and Southeast Asia. The distribution area extends from India and probably Pakistan over a large area of the People's Republic of China to the malaische Peninsula and the offshore islands. She comes in addition to the mentioned countries also in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines.
In the Philippines, it was assumed that the species occurs only in Batan, 2004, however it was in the context of a survey on Calayan Iceland and the Babuyan Islands found. Whether the type also also in Sumatra, Indonesia, occurs is unclear. In China, the species occurs in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guanxi, Gansu, Guizhou and Fujian and Hainan. The populations of Taiwan are against it as its own kind, the height distribution is likely to affect up to 3000 meters.
Way of life
Within its range the eyelashes shrew is usually the most frequently encountered shrew and their lifestyle is typical of shrews. She lives in numerous different habitats such as coniferous, deciduous, mixed and bamboo forests and shrub vegetation on the ground. Like all shrews feed on this species of invertebrates, especially insects and worms. Little is known about the reproduction, litter sizes of four to five pups were documented.
System
The lashes shrew is classified as a separate species within the genus of white tooth shrew ( Crocidura ), which consists of about 170 species. The first scientific description comes from Henri Milne -Edwards in 1872, who described an individual from Sichuan Province. In this way partly C. tanakae was classified as a subspecies, but now spun off due to a significantly different genome and considered as a separate species. The same applies to the Christmas Island Shrew ( Crocidura trichura ).
Within the species are no further sub- types in addition to the nominate Crocidura attenuata attenuata be distinguished.
Threat and protection
The lashes shrew is by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the very large distribution area, the classified assumed large populations and the non-existent threat inventory as not at risk ( least concern ). In addition, the species occurs within its range in numerous protected areas. Potential threats to the stocks are not known, regionally can a hazard due to habitat loss or competition with introduced species ( invasive species ) exist.