Anourosorex yamashinai

145.

Taiwanese Mole Shrew

Anourosorex yamashinai

French: Musaraigne de Yamashina / German: Taiwan-Maulwurfspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana topo de Taiwan

Taxonomy. Anourosorex squamipes yamashinai Kuroda, 1935,

“ Taiheizan, Tathoku-siu, 5500 feet [= 1676 m], northern Formosa [= Taiwan],” China.

Anourosorex yamashinai was included in A. squamipes as a subspecies and was elevated to a full species based on a different karyotype. It is sister to A. squamipes. Monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to Taiwan I.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51-98 mm,

tail 7-12-6 mm, hindfoot 13-16 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. Condylo-incisive lengths are 23-5-25-8 mm, and upper tooth rows are 10-3—11-7 mm. The Taiwanese Mole Shrew is medium-sized, characterized by small eyes and shorttail. It is similar to the Chinese Mole Shrew (A. squamipes) but smaller. Dorsal and ventral pelage is black, and feet and tail are white. Middle ear has ossicles and is more similar to a talpid mole rather than a terrestrial shrew. Skull and mandible are robust, and mastoid and condylar processes are well developed. It has two upper unicuspids,first is long, and second is much reduced. Upper P*, M', and M” are quadrangle. Cusps of teeth are unpigmented. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 50 and FNa = 96.

Habitat. Moist microhabitats in subtropical, mixed deciduous, and coniferous forest; alpine tundra; agricultural fields; riparian woodlands; and dwarf bamboo at elevations of 300-3000 m.

Food and Feeding. Taiwanese Mole Shrew is insectivorous. It is a generalist and eats a wide variety of invertebrates including insects, oligochaetes, and Gastropoda. Larval and adult insects are major prey.

Breeding. Recorded littersizes of the Taiwanese Mole Shrew are 2-4 young. Breeding occurs in wet seasons in Taiwan (May-September).

Activity patterns. Most Taiwanese Mole Shrews were trapped during dusk and at night. They are semi-fossorial and favor dense vegetational cover and suitable conditions for burrowing.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Taiwanese Mole Shrew presumably has a large overall population, and habitats in mountains of Taiwan are well protected with limited anthropogenic activities.

Bibliography. Hutterer (2005b), Koyabu et al. (2017), Motokawa & Lin Liangkong (2002), Motokawa et al. (2004), Yu Hontsen (1993).