114.

Muscular Broad-clawed Shrew

Cryptotis lacertosus

French: Musaraigne armée / German: Robuste Kleinohrspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de unas anchas musculosa

Other common names: Strong-armed Broad-clawed Shrew

Taxonomy. Cryptotis lacertosus Woodman, 2010,

“ a north-facing slope with abundant downed trees and mosses in a relatively closed-canopy cloud forest dominated by oaks, pines, and firs; 5 km SW San Mateo Ixtatan, 3,110 m, Huehuetenango, Guatemala.”

Cryptotis lacertosus is in the C. goodwini group and sister to a clade including C. mam, C. goodwini, and C. oreoryctes. Monotypic.

Distribution. Highlands of Sierra de los

Cuchumatanes around San Mateo Ixtatan (W Guatemala).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 75-87 mm, tail 24-30 mm, hindfoot 12-15 mm; weight 10-17 g. The Muscular Broad-clawed Shrew is bulky and large, with robust and sharply curved humerus, very broad forefeet, and extremely long and broad foreclaws. Dorsum is dark blackish brown (silver hairs with dark brown tips), and venteris dark grayish brown,slightly lighter than dorsum. Feet are relatively long and broad, with long wide claws. Tail is very short (34% of head-body length), covered with short hair, and slightly bicolored, being dark brownish gray above and slightly lighter below. Eyes are diminutive, and ears are small and barely visible under fur. Unicuspid row is long; zygomatic plate is relatively long; and fourth unicuspid is partially visible in lateral view of the skull. Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids.

Habitat. Subtropical montane wet forests at elevations of 2680-3110 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information for this species, but the Muscular Broad-clawed Shrew is most likely semi-fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Muscular Broad-clawed Shrew has a highly restricted distribution, and virtually nothing is known aboutit due to its recent discovery; additional research is needed.

Bibliography. Baird et al. (2018), Guevara & Cervantes (2014), Guevara, Lorenzo et al. (2014), Roach & Naylor (2017b), Woodman (2010, 2011b, 2015a).