Pearson's long-clawed shrew

The Pearson - long claws shrew ( Solisorex pearsoni ) is an endemic to Sri Lanka shrew.

Features

Named giving feature of these shrews are the strikingly long front claws. The soft, dense fur is gray brown, the big feet are brown. The tail is hairy uniform, the ears are small and the teeth compared to other shrews relatively large. These animals can reach a body length between 125 and 150 millimeters, which must be added a 60 to 70 millimeters long tail is, so are relatively large representatives of their family.

Way of life

Pearson - long claws shrews inhabit exclusively the central highlands of Sri Lanka, where they occur in altitudes 1100-1850 meters. About the lifestyle is otherwise little known. The large claws could be indicative of an at least partially underground lifestyle.

Discovery and threat

The species was discovered in 1924 in the Botanical Garden Hakgala near the town of Nuwara Eliya by J. Pearson, an employee of a museum in Colombo. In the same region a few decades had been previously discovered with the Kelaart - long claws shrew has a similar type.

Due to the destruction of their habitat, the IUCN lists the species as threatened ( endangered ).

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