Elegant water shrew
The mountain shrew ( Nectogale elegans) is an adapted to aquatic life kind of shrews from Asia. It is the only species of the genus Nectogale.
Features
General features
These shrews reach a head -body length from 9 to 11.5 centimeters, a tail length of about 10 centimeters and a weight of 25 to 45 grams. The soft, water-repellent coat of this shrew is colored dark gray at the top and interspersed with single white hair, the sharply defined body sides and bottom are light gray to white. The paws are provided as in the water shrews with a bristle-like Haarsaum and in addition have small webbed on. Disc-like balls on the soles are probably the better grip when crossing wet stones, or the tradition of prey. The body is streamlined, the ears are small and completely hidden in the fur. The tail has a side combs of solid hair, change the cross-section of the tail of the basal square on triangular too flat at the end and so make him a rowing tool.
In size the type corresponds approximately to the Himalayan water shrew ( Chimarrogale himalayica ), but because of the webbed feet and the tail is clearly visible.
Features of the skull and skeleton
The skull has a maximum width in the region of the zygomatic arches of about 15-16 millimeters. It is built flat, the skull is broad and flat and becomes narrower towards the rear.
The species has in the maxilla per half an incisor ( incisor ) and then three relatively long trained unicuspid teeth, a Vorbackenzahn ( premolar ) and three molars ( Molar ). 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. Among the single-pointed teeth, the first two are of about equal length, the third is much shorter. The roots of teeth are stained red as with most Rotzahnspitzmäusen.
Genome
The genome of the mitochondrial DNA of the mountain shrew was completely sequenced and published in 2013.
Distribution area
The distribution of mountain shrews located in the northern South Asia and includes Tibet and neighboring Chinese provinces ( Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Xizang ) and parts of Nepal, the Indian state of Sikkim, Bhutan and northern Myanmar. She lives along rivers in mountainous regions at altitudes 900-2270 m.
Way of life
The mountain shrew is best adapted to life in the water compared to all other species of shrews and is the only living water constantly Art She lives in fast-flowing mountain streams and can enjoy swimming and diving; to rest to pull these shrews in Build back on the riverbank.
The diet consists of aquatic insects and small fish that are mainly daytime hunted and captured. She swims in the hunt, for example, against the flow and examined rocks and branches for prey animals, then she drifts into calmer and deeper water and submerged there for food.
System
The mountain shrew is classified as an independent and single species within the monotypic genus Nectogale. The first scientific description comes from Henri Milne Edwards from 1870, which kind of Baoxing in Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China described. Together with some closely related genera it forms the tribe Nectogalini.
Within the species, no further addition to the nominate subspecies Nectogale elegans elegans can be distinguished.
Threat and protection
The mountain shrew is currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN) due to the large distribution area and the assumed large populations classified as not at risk ( " least concern "). Concrete inventory figures and threats for the species are not known; a potential hazard exists due to the clearing of forests for timber extraction and conversion to agricultural land.