306.

Katinka’s White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura katinka

French: Crocidure de Katinka / German: Katinka-WeiRRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Katinka

Other common names: Katinka Shrew

Taxonomy. Crocidura katinka Bate, 1937,

Levels E to D (Pleistocene) in Tabun Cave, Carmel Mountains, Israel.

The first records of C. katinka, from 1937, were Pleistocene fossils of anterior part of skull and six mandibular rami. Nearly a quarter of a century later, in 1961, D. A. Hooijer suggested that a fossil portion of a left mandibular ramus discovered at Ksar’Akil, Lebanon, could similarly belong to C. katinka. In more

recent years, R. Hutterer and D. Kock in 2002 indentified recent fragments of skull and mandibles of katinka in fresh common barn-owl (7Tyto alba) and little owl (Athene noctua) pellets from Syria. These findings confirmed that katinka is still extant. In addition, an as yet unreported sample from Iran also seems to belong to this species. Cranial similarities between katinka and some shrews from Africa indicate a possible relationship to the species bottegi, obscurior, and bottegoides. The theory that these shrews from the Ethiopian Highlands are more closely related to Palearctic species than other African species is supported by similarities in RNA

sequences and chromosome counts. Further research is needed to test the phylogenetic position of katinka compared to other species from the Middle East and the bottegi group from Africa. Monotypic.

Distribution. Near Halabiya at the Euphrates and Qal’at Sukkara (Syria); potentially in SW Iran. There are no recent records from Israel, Palestine or Lebanon indicating that the species is potentially extinct in this region. However, it cannot certainly be excluded that katinka is more common in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula.

Descriptive notes. No specific measurements available. Size of cranial fragments of Katinka’s White-toothed Shrew signifies that the species is smaller than all other Crocidura species known from Europe, Middle East, and Arabia. Skull shows some parallels in size and dentition with the Egyptian Pygmy White-toothed Shrew (C. religiosa) of Egypt, but that species has an extremely narrow infraorbital bridge and a much flatter snout. Katinka’s White-toothed Shrew has a small dorsally flattened skull with a broad interorbital region, narrow palate and short rostrum. Its relatively broad braincase is rounded. The short mandible ramus is robust with a low, wide coronoid process. First upper incisor is not long, the three upper unicuspids are small; M? is massive; upper toothrow length 7-7-3 mm; lower toothrow c¢.6-7 mm. Complete specimens are needed to obtain a fuller understanding of morphological and genetic characters.

Habitat. Syrian records are from arid areas, but detailed data are not available.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Katinka’s White-toothed Shrews are terrestrial. The records from owl pellets indicate nocturnal activity.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Population size and trends of Katinka’s White-toothed Shrew are unknown. Detailed research is needed to identify the species’ status and potential threats.

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2008), Bate (1937a, 1937b), Gerrie & Kennerley (2017a), Hooijer (1961), Hutterer (2005b), Hutterer & Kock (2002), Karami et al. (2008).