Cryptotis mam Woodman 2010

116.

Mam Broad-clawed Shrew

Cryptotis mam

French: Musaraigne mam / German: Mam-Kleinohrspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de unas anchas maya

Taxonomy. Cryptotis mam Woodman, 2010,

“at approximately 10,000 feet [= 3048 m] in cloud forest dominated by cypress, fir, and pine on the upper reaches of a spurlike ridge above Todos Santos Cuchumatan [approximately 15°36'N, 91°37°'W], Huehuetenango, Guatemala.”

Cryptotis mam 1s in the C. goodwini group and seems to be closely related to C. goodwini because one specimen clustered within C. mam in a recent phylogenetic study.

Cryptotis mam and C. goodwini were sisters to C. oreoryctes in the same study. Monotypic.

Distribution. Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Huehuetenango Department, possibly also adjacent Quiché Department (W Honduras).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 64-81 mm,tail 22-32 mm, hindfoot 11-16 mm; weight 7-11 g. The Mam Broad-clawed Shrew is mediumto large-sized, similar to Goodwin’s Broad-clawed Shrew (C. goodwini). Dorsum of the Mam Broad-clawed Shrew is dark brown, with silver hair grading to narrow pale brown band and dark brown tip. Venter is paler tawny brown. Feet are relatively short compared with other broad-clawed shrews, with wide metacarpals, but they are still broad, with long wide claws, including relatively wide middle digit. Tail is short (38% of head-body length), dark brown, and covered with short hair. Eyes are diminutive, and ears are small and barely visible under fur. Upper unicuspid row is not crowded; fourth unicuspid is typically aligned and partially visible in labial view of rostrum; protoconal basin of M' is reduced relative to the hypoconal basin; and entoconid of M,is absent. Humerusis broad, with elongated processes. Teeth are reddish, and there are four unicuspids.

Habitat. Subtropical montane wet forests of giant cypress (Cupressus, Cupressaceae), firs, and pines at elevations of 2740-3350 m.

Food and Feeding. Mam Broad-clawed Shrews are known to eat earthworms, insects, and plant material; earthworms are most consistently found in their diets, indicating a hypogeallifestyle that is supported by their broad forefeet. Stomach content of one specimen contained pieces of an earthworm and intestines contained beetles, plant cells, and some fungal hyphae, although much of these items were probably incidental.

Breeding. One lactating Mam Broad-clawed Shrew was captured in July.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information for this species, but the Mam Broadclawed Shrew is probably semi-fossorial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Distribution of the Mam Broad-clawed Shrew is relatively limited, and it is considered rare. Additional research is needed.

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