Fingui white-toothed shrew explained

The Fingui white-toothed shrew or Principe white-toothed shrew (Crocidura fingui) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe.[1]

Taxonomy

Previously thought to be an insular population of Fraser's musk shrew (C. poensis), a species common throughout much of mainland West-Central Africa, a 2015 morphological and phylogenetic analysis found it to be a distinct (although closely related) species, and described it as such.[2] It is one of two Crocidura species endemic to the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, the other being the São Tomé shrew (C. thomensis).

The specific epithet, fingui, is the name of this species in Principense Creole, a local language.

Description

It has a head-to-rump length of NaNmm and a tail between 49% and 70% of the body length. Both the pelage and skin are dark in coloration.

Status

Little is known about this species, and it is thus classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. However, it may face a significant threat by predation from feral cats (Felis catus), as with C. thomensis.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Explore the Database . 2022-03-10 . www.mammaldiversity.org.
  2. Ceríaco . Luis M. P. . Marques . Mariana P. . Jacquet . François . Nicolas . Violaine . Colyn . Marc . Denys . Christiane . Sardinha . Patrícia C. . Bastos-Silveira . Cristiane . 2015-08-01 . Description of a new endemic species of shrew (Mammalia, Soricomorpha) from PrÍncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea) . Mammalia . en . 79 . 3 . 325–341 . 10.1515/mammalia-2014-0056 . 84497310 . 1864-1547.