Smith's shrew

Chodsigoa smithii is a shrew of the genus Chodsigoa. It is endemic in the People's Republic of China, where it is known at altitudes above 3000 meters only from mountain forests.

Features

With a head-body length of 7.2 to 9.6 centimeters Chodsigoa smithii is one of the medium-sized shrew species. The tail reaches a length of 92-108 mm, which is significantly longer than the body, the hind foot is 16 to 19 millimeters long. The dorsal and ventral color is dark gray-brown, the belly is lighter. The tail is pale brown on the upper side and lower side white. The tops of the feet are brown white. In comparison to the very similar looking Chodsigoa parca the species is colored slightly larger and slightly darker at the same time it is slightly smaller than Chodsigoa salenskii.

The skull of Chodsigoa smithii has a length of 21 to 23 millimeters. Compared to Chodsigoa parca the snout area is broad and tapers more in the area of the premaxilla. 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 smithii is endemic in the People's Republic of China in the provinces of Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi and Hubei to the south before. Most individuals were found at altitudes above 3000 meters. The species is sympatric with before Chodsigoa hypsibia. To Chodsigoa parca the species is largely allopatric, but for at least one locality is a sympatric occurrence detected.

Way of life

Over the life of this kind are, as with most other Asian shrews only very limited data. Like all shrews also Chodsigoa feeds smithii of invertebrates and lives on the ground. The species is probably bound to forests in mountainous areas of over 3000 meters above sea level, where there was the most recent finds. Due to the large hind legs and a long tail, it is assumed that the animals are better climbers than most other species of shrews.

System

Chodsigoa smithii is classified as a separate species within the genus Chodsigoa consisting of eight kinds. The first scientific description comes from Oldfield Thomas in 1911, who had an individual from the Chinese province of Sichuan are available. The species was a long time been classified as a subspecies of Chodsigoa salenskii, got in the 1970s, but again the species status. You additionally contained Chodsigoa parca and their subspecies Chodsigoa parca furva as subspecies.

Within the species, no further sub- types can be distinguished in addition to the nominate Chodsigoa smithii smithii.

Threat and protection

Chodsigoa smithii is by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the sharp decline due to the loss of suitable habitats throughout their range as Near Threatened ( " near threatened " ) classified. It is believed that the stocks will fall by more than 30% over the next ten years and therefore a future classification as an endangered species is possible.