Fox's shrew

The Fox musk shrew ( Crocidura foxi ), also referred to as Nigerian savanna shrew, is a shrew from the kind of white tooth shrew ( Crocidura ). The species name refers to the Reverend George T. Fox, who led a mission in northern Nigeria and the first specimen of this species collected, which was first described in 1915 by Guy Dollman.

Features

The Fox musk shrew is a large to very large shrew, which reaches a head-body length of 91-114 mm. The tail length is 53-72 mm, the Hinterfußlänge 15.5 to 18.5 mm, the ear length 8 to 11 mm, the length of the skull from 23.5 to 25.8 mm and the width of the skull from 8.8 to 11.2 mm. The weight is 13 to 22 g The back fur is chocolate brown rust brown. The hair is brown at the base and gray at the top. The peritoneum is gray, the hairs sometimes have white tips. The color of the peritoneum contrasts sharply with the color of the back of the coat. The flanks, chest and throat are gray. The relatively short tail makes up 50 to 63 percent of the head-body length. He is bright and covered to about 20 to 35 percent with coarse hairs. The skull is flat. The first upper incisor is long and hook-shaped. The first cusp is longer than the second and third. The third molar is small. The karyotype and the number of teats are not known.

Distribution area

The Fox musk shrew is found in Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

Habitat

In Nigeria, inhabited the Fox musk shrew savannas, secondary scrubland, farmland and freshly spent nuclear, rocky grasslands. In Senegal, it is to be found in cultivated irrigated areas between rows of dunes and marshy grassland. In Arrondissement Niayes north of Dakar, it divides their territories with Hubert Much teats mouse ( Mastomys Huberti ) and with the Red Woolly Rat ( Dasymys rufulus ).

Status

The Fox musk shrew is by the IUCN as " not at risk " ( least concern ) assessed. In Nigeria, it is considered locally common.