Crocidura religiosa

300.

Egyptian Pygmy White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura religiosa

French: Crocidure d’'Egypte / German: Kleine Agyptische WeiRRzahnspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana pigmea de Egipto

Other common names: Egyptian Pygmy Shrew, Sacred Shrew

Taxonomy. Sorex religiosus I.Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in Passalacqua, 1826,

“Egypt, Qena Governorate, near Thebes, western bank of the Nile River, necropolis Dra’ Abu el-Naga’ (25°44’07"N, 32°37°147E), tomb of Queen Mentuhotep. The exact source of the preserved specimen is unknown, but presumed to be from the vicinity of Thebes.”

Crocidura religiosa was originally described based on embalmed specimens from an-

cient Egyptian tombs in Thebes and was later found to be extant. The type series was thought to be lost, and a neotype was established by G. B. Corbet in 1978 using modern specimens from Giza. N. Woodman, C. Koch, and R. Hutterer in 2017 proved that the type series was not lost and designated a lectotype from the original type series because the type specimen has been truly lost. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from living specimens in Giza, Nile Delta, NE Egypt, plus a recent additional record S on the Nile and another to the N of Giza in the Nile Delta; mummified specimens are known from Thebes, SE Egypt; it may have a more extensive distribution throughout the Nile Valley between Giza and Thebes.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 48-62 mm, tail 28-40 mm, ear 5-9 mm, hindfoot 8-10 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Egyptian Pygmy Whitetoothed Shrew is very small. Dorsal pelage is grayish, with brown tinge, and ventral pelage is pale gray, with gray-based, white-tipped hairs. Chin and throat are paler than venter, and feet are whitish. Tail is ¢.656% of head-body length, bicolored, being gray above and whitish below, and covered in numerous bristle hairs. Skull is small, delicate, and ratherflat. There are three unicuspids.

Habitat. Cultivated fields under stones, bricks and clumps of dirt. Egyptian Pygmy White-toothed Shrews are also found along canal banks and under piles of grass, cotton, and corn stalks.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. Only two recent specimens of the Egyptian Pygmy White-toothed Shrew are known along with anciently preserved specimens from Thebes. It is probably rare, but additional sampling efforts are needed to establish its full distribution.

Bibliography. Corbet (1978), Happold (2013i), Hutterer, Amori et al. (2008), Woodman (2015b), Woodman et al. (2017).