Neal Woodman
2010
The broad-clawed shrews (Soricomorpha: Soricidae: <i>Cryptotis</i>) encompass a clade of 5 species—<i>Cryptotis alticolus</i> (Merriam), <i>C. goldmani</i> (Merriam), <i>C. goodwini</i> Jackson, <i>C. griseoventris</i> Jackson, and <i>C. peregrinus</i> (Merriam)—that is known collectively as the <i>Cryptotis goldmani</i> group and is characterized by broadened forefeet, elongated and broadened fore claws, and broadened humeri. These shrews are distributed in highland regions from central Mexico to Honduras. Two broad-clawed shrews, <i>C. goodwini</i> and <i>C. griseoventris</i>, occur in southern Mexico and Guatemala and are presumed sister species whose primary distinguishing feature is the larger size of <i>C. goodwini</i>. In an investigation of variation within and between these 2 species, I studied characteristics of the postcranial skeleton. Statistical analyses of a variety of character suites indicate that the forelimb morphology in this group exhibits less intraspecific variation and greater interspecific variation than cranio-mandibular morphology, although most skull characters support groupings based on forelimb characters. Together, these characters define 4 distinct groups among the specimens examined. <i>C. griseoventris</i> is restricted to the northern highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and <i>C. goodwini</i> occurs in the southern highlands of Chiapas and Guatemala. Herein, I describe 2 new species of broad-clawed shrews from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala.
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10.1644/09-MAMM-A-346.1
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American Society of Mammalogists
Two new species of shrews (Soricidae) from the western highlands of Guatemala
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