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A new species of small-eared shrew in the Cryptotis thomasi species group from Costa Rica (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

Mammal Research
By:  and 
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-016-0289-6

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Abstract

We describe a new species of small-eared shrew, genus Cryptotis Pomel, 1848 (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), from near the community of Monteverde in the Tilarán highlands of northwestern Costa Rica. The new species is immediately distinguished from all other Costa Rican shrews its large size and long tail. Morphologically, it belongs to the Cryptotis thomasi group of small-eared shrews, a clade that is more typically distributed in the Andes Cordillera and other highland regions of northern South America. The new Costa Rican species and the Panamanian endemic Cryptotis endersi Setzer, 1950 are the only two members of this species group known to occur in Central America. Like most other members of the C. thomasi group for which the postcranial skeleton has been studied, the new species tends be more ambulatory (rather than semi-fossorial) when compared with other members of the genus. Our survey efforts over several decades failed to locate a population of the new species, and we discuss its conservation status in light of its limited potential distribution in the Tilarán highlands and the significant climatic change that has been documented in the Monteverde region during the past four decades.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title A new species of small-eared shrew in the Cryptotis thomasi species group from Costa Rica (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Series title Mammal Research
DOI 10.1007/s13364-016-0289-6
Volume 62
Issue 1
Year Published 2017
Language English
Publisher Springer
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 13 p.
First page 89
Last page 101
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