A new species of small-eared shrew (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico
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Abstract
The diversity and distribution of mammals in the American tropics remain incompletely known. We describe a new species of small-eared shrew (Soricidae, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Chiapas, southern Mexico. The new species is distinguished from other species of Cryptotis on the basis of a unique combination of pelage coloration, size, dental, cranial, postcranial, and external characters, and genetic distances. It appears most closely related to species in the Cryptotis nigrescens species group, which occurs from southern Mexico to montane regions of Colombia. This discovery is particularly remarkable because the new species is from a low-elevation habitat (approximately 90 m), whereas most shrews in the region are restricted to higher elevations, typically > 1,000 m. The only known locality for the new shrew is in one of the last areas in southern Mexico where relatively undisturbed tropical vegetation is still found. The type locality is protected by the Mexican government as part of the Yaxchilán Archaeological Site on the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | A new species of small-eared shrew (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico |
| Series title | Journal of Mammalogy |
| DOI | 10.1644/14-MAMM-A-018 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 2014 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Society of Mammalogists |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 15 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Journal of Mammalogy |
| First page | 739 |
| Last page | 753 |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Chiapas |
| Other Geospatial | Lacandona rain forest |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |