Lesser Taiwanese shrew

Chodsigoa sodalis is a shrew of the genus Chodsigoa. It is endemic in the heights of the island of Taiwan and is known only from a few certain identified individuals.

Features

With a head-body length of 6.5 to 7.1 centimeters and a weight of about 4.2 to 5.6 grams Chodsigoa sodalis is one of the small to medium-sized shrew species. The tail reaches a length of 64-73 millimeters and is therefore just as long as the body, the hind foot 13 ​​to 15 millimeters. The body of the species is slender and covered with a long coat of hair with 4 to 5 millimeters in length. The dorsal coloration is uniformly dark gray-brown, and she goes on the flanks into the darker abdominal coloration. The tail is both above and below as hand dyed dark olive - brown. The feet are occupied relatively large and with short, white hair.

Like all species of the genus has the kind in the maxilla per half an incisor ( incisor ) and then three 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. The roots of teeth are stained red as with most Rotzahnspitzmäusen.

Dissemination

Chodsigoa sodalis is endemic in the heights of the island of Taiwan. The height distribution is probably in 1560-2438 meters,

Way of life

Over the life of this kind are, as in all species of the genus is only very limited data so far only five individuals are reliably identified. Like all shrews also feed on these types of invertebrates. The habitat is likely limited to the deciduous and mixed forests of high altitudes.

In parts of the habitat of the species is sympatric with fumidus Episoriculus, but occurs in much more habitats and at altitudes up to 3200 meters.

System

Chodsigoa sodalis is classified as a separate species within the genus Chodsigoa consisting of eight kinds. The first scientific description comes from Thomas in 1913, who described an individual from central Taiwan. The species was long considered a synonym of also living on Taiwan shrew Episoriculus fumidus, but accepted in the 1990s, partly because of the genome again as a separate species.

Within the type no further sub- types in addition to the nominate Chodsigoa sodalis sodalis be distinguished.

Threat and protection

Chodsigoa sodalis is run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the few known data on population size and the environmental claims as " data deficient " and not classified in a category of threat. So far, only five individuals of the species have been scientifically identified with certainty. Specific risks for the type are not known due to lack of knowledge on the biology and the ecological requirements of habitat loss through logging operations could pose the main threat.