295. North African White-toothed Shrew Crocidura pachyura French: Crocidure de Sardaigne / German: Nordafrikanische Hausspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana norteafricana Other common names: Pantellerian Shrew Taxonomy. Sorex pachyurus Kuster, 1835, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Lectotype designated by H. Turini, R. Hutterer and R. Asher in 2007. Crocidura pachyura was previously known as C. ichnusae, although pachyura has priority over ichnusae. Crocidura pachyura was previously included as a subspecies of C. russula, although morphological, karyological, hybridization (F2 generation with restricted fertility), and genetic data supportits specific status. It is sister to C. russula. Monotypic. Distribution. Ibiza I (Balearic Is, Spain), Sardinia, and Pantelleria I (Italy), as well as NE Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa, where the species full distribution is uncertain. It seems to have been native to North Africa and was introduced in ancient times to the islandic portion ofits distribution. Descriptive notes. Head—body 62-78 mm, tail 30-40 mm, ear 9 mm, hindfoot 11-13 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The North African White-toothed Shrew is medium-sized and externally very similar to the Greater White-toothed Shrew (C. russula). Dorsal pelage is dark brown, and ventral pelage is somewhat lighter. Tail is relatively short and similar in color to dorsum pelage, having long bristle hairs scattered throughout. Antero-dorsal apex of rostrum is clearly visible, and X-shaped crest at base of braincase has larger posterior arms than anterior arms. Profile of braincase is flatter than in the Greater White-toothed Shrew. There are three unicuspids. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 42 and FN = 66-70. Habitat. Various habitats including pastures, cultivated fields, low shrubland, gardens, and old agricultural terraces with dry stonewalls from sea level to elevations of 800-1000 m. 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 Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Very little 1s known of the North African White-toothed Shrew, and it seem to be rather rare. It does not seem to face any major threats other than it has a highly restricted distribution. Bibliography. Amori, Hutterer et al. (2008), Brandli et al. (2005), Contoli et al. (2004), Cosson et al. (2005), Handley & Perrin (2006), Nicolas et al. (2014), Sara & Vogel (1996), Turni et al. (2007).

Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, pp. 332-551 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 500, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843