Cryptotis

The genus Cryptotis is a group of relatively small shrews with short ears, which are usually not visible, and short tails, commonly called small-eared shrews. They have 30 teeth and are members of the red-toothed shrew subfamily. Since 1992, Neal Woodman (in cooperation with Robert Timm) at the United States National Museum has been in the process of revising the genus. To date, this has resulted in an increase in the number of species from 12 to 30.

Small-eared shrews[1]
Temporal range: Late Miocene to Recent
North American least shrew (Cryptotis parva)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Subfamily: Soricinae
Tribe: Blarinini
Genus: Cryptotis
Pomel, 1848
Type species
Sorex cinereus [2]
Species

See text

Members of the genus are found mainly in Central America; the North American least shrew, C. parva, is the only species found north of Mexico. The genus occurs as far south as northern Peru and as far east as western Venezuela in South America. It is the only soricomorph genus found south of Guatemala. The limited diversity and restricted northern distribution of shrews in South America implies that the group entered the continent relatively recently from Central America, where they are more diverse, presumably as part of the Great American Interchange. However, shrews have no fossil record in South America that would allow their arrival to be dated.

List of species

References
  1. Hutterer, R. (2005). "Genus Cryptotis". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 270–274. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. "Cryptotis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  4. Woodman, Neal (June 2010). "Two new species of shrews (Soricidae) from the western highlands of Guatemala". Journal of Mammalogy. American Society of Mammalogists. 91 (3): 566–579. doi:10.1644/09-MAMM-A-346.1.
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