Uropsilus soricipes Milne-Edwards 1871

5.

Chinese Shrew Mole

Uropsilus soricipes

French: Taupe du Sichuan / German: Sichuan-Spitzmausmaulwurf / Spanish: Topo musarana de China

Taxonomy. Uropsilus soricipes Milne-Edwards in David, 1872,

Moupin (= Baoxing), Sichuan, China.

Uropsilus soricipes was previously included in the genus Nasillus (as its type species), but itis currently included in Uropsilus. Monotypic.

Distribution. C & SW China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 66-80 mm, tail 50-69 mm, hindfoot 14-17 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Color of the Chinese Shrew Mole is variable; dorsum is dark brown and venteris dark slate-gray. Snout is long and scaly, and is formed of two tubular nostrils with a groove along the top. Ears extend beyond fur

on the head and are conspicuous. Tail is long and slender and covered with rings of small scales. Dental formulais 2/1, C 1/1, P 3/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 34.

Habitat. Forests at elevations below 2200 m. The Chinese Shrew Mole is geographically sympatric with the Gracile Shrew Mole (U. gracilis) in the vicinity of Wenchuan, Sichuan, but is segregated altitudinally. The Chinese Shrew Mole is found below 2200 m while the Gracile

Shrew Mole is found at higher altutides (above 3000 m).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The Chinese Shrew Moleis terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Hoffmann (1984), Hoffmann & Lunde (2008), Hutterer (2005a), Motokawa (2004), Stone (1995b), Tu Feiyun et al. (2015), Wan Tao etal. (2013).