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Greater Forest Shrew

Sylvisorex ollula

French: Pachyure de Thomas / German: Grof 3e Waldmoschusspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de bosque mayor

Other common names: Forest Musk Shrew

Taxonomy. Sylvisorex ollula Thomas, 1913,

Ja River, 2000 feet (= 610 m), Bitye, Cameroon.

Genetic studies have found little genetic differentiation among populations of Sylvisorex ollula. It might be closely related to S. konganensis. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Nigeria (Obudu Plateau), S Cameroon, SW Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, as well as one record from SE DR Congo; possibly W Republic of the Congo.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 91-110 mm, tail 59-73 mm, ear 12-17 mm, hindfoot 14-17 mm; weight 18-22 g. The Greater Forest Shrew is one of the largest species of Sylvisorex, along with Corbet’s Forest Shrew (S. corbeti). Pelage of the Greater Forest Shrew is dense and velvety, with a silky sheen; dorsum is medium to dark brown or blackish, with slight reddish tinge; and venteris paler grayish brown to medium brown. Feet are dark brown and sparsely haired. Tail is ¢.57% of head-body length, mostly naked with some bristles on basal 10% oftail, thin, and unicolored blackish brown. Skull isflat, with slightly domed braincase; I' are long and hooked; M? are narrow; and sagittal and occipital crests on braincase are well developed. There are four unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 38 and FN = 64.

Habitat. Primary lowland tropical moist forest at elevations of 300-700 m.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Meanlitter size is two young in Belinga-Makokou and 3-5 young in Doudou, Gabon.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Greater Forest Shrew is widespread and relatively common throughoutits distribution.

Bibliography. Brosset (1988), Goodman & Hutterer (2004), Goodman et al. (2001), Hutterer & Montermann (2009), Lasso et al. (1996), O'Brien et al. (2006), Quérouil et al. (2003), Ray & Hutterer (1996, 2013).