Descriptions of three new Asiatic shrews

VOL. _XIV, PP, 157-159

AUGUST

9, 1901

PROCEEDINGS

or THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW ASIATIC SHREWS.*

BY GERR1T

S.

MILLER,

^JR.

Among

^{the Asiatic}

^shrews

^{in the}

^United

^States

^National Mu

seum

are

two

species that

appear

^to

have not

_yet

been named.

A

third

was

_recently

submitted

to

me

for

determination by Mr.

Oldfield

Thomas.

Crocidura ilensis _sp. nov.

Type. Adult female _(skinandskull) collected in open grasscountry at

Kukturuk,

(altitude, 5400 ft.) Hi, centralAsia, October _{12, 1899,}

by

P. Church. _Original number, ^4.

Specimen

^{to be} presented ^to the British

Museum.

Character*. In general similar to

Kashmir

_specimens of Crocidura myoide* (Blanford), butsmaller. Color_distinctlypalerthaninthe

Kash

miranimal, the ^feet nearly white. Skull with

more

slender rostrum

and

smallerteeth.

Color. Dorsal surface pale drab, the hairs drab-gray subterminally

and

a gray about

matching

Ridgway's No. ^{(PI. II)at base. Ventral} surfacesilverywhitishgray^{in distinct}but not sharply defined contrast with color of back. Feet whitish gray. Tail indistinctly bicolor, whitish graybelow, drab above.

Skull

and

teeth.

The

skullisdistinctlysmallerthanthatofC.myoides

and

C.rvvsula,

which

are of essentially the

same

size. In form, how-

*Published here by permission ^of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

31-BiOL. Soc.

WASH.

VOL. XIV, ^1901. (157)

158

Miller

New

Asiatic Shrews.

ever, ^{it is}not peculiar. Teethas in C. myoides but smallerthroughout.

The

unicuspid ^teeth resemble those of the

Kashmir

animal in their smallersize

and

lessterete formas

compared

^{withthoseof'C. russula.}

Measurements. External

measurements

oftype: totallength,85: head

and

_body, 55; tail vertebra¹, 80; hind _foot, 13; hind footwithoutclaws, 12.

Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length, 16.6; greatest postor- bital breadth, ^8.4; greatest antorbital breadth, ^{6; least} interorbital breadth, 4; mandible, 10; entire maxillarytoothrow, 8.4; entire mandi- bular toothrow, ^8.

Specimen^examined. One, thetype.

Remarks. CrocidurailensisagreeswithC.lignicolor in size, but isvery different in color. In thelattercharacterit is almost identicalwith C.

sicula,

though

lacking the^faintbroccoli-brown

wash

on the dorsal sur face.

The

skull is only^{a trifle} smaller than that ofC.sicula

and

the toothrowas awholeisofaboutthe

same

length; buttheunicuspid^teeth are

much

smaller.

Crocidura shantungensis

sp. nov.

Type. Adult_(skin

and

skull)No. _86,151, United States National

Mu

seum. Collected at

Chimeh,

Shantung, northern China, June, 1898, by Paul _{D. Bergen.}

Characters. Size

and

_general appearance ^{as in} Crocidura tietuns, but molarteethboth above

and

below_distinctlysmaller.

Color. In color Crocidura shantungensis closely resembles C. ilensis,

butthefeetare lesswhitish

and

the dorsal surface ^is

washed

withbroc coli-brown exactly ^{as in C. sicula.}

Skull

and

teeth.

The

hinderpart^of the skullisbroken

away

^{so that} the

form

cannot be

compared

^{with thatof theallied} species.

The

ros

trum

differsfromthatof C.ilejisisingreater^relativebreadth

and

_depth.

The

teeth are throughout^smallerthanthoseof C. ilensis, butthe differ enceismost^noticeableinthe molars. I can detect no _tangible differ encesinform.

Measurements. External

measurements

of type (from skin): total length, 87; head

and

_body, 62; ^tailvertebra^, 25; hindfoot, 13_(12).

Cranial

measurements

of type: ^entiremaxillary toothrow, 7.8; great estantorbital breadth, 5.4; mandible,9; entiremandibular toothrow, ^7.

Specimen^examined. One, the type.

Remarks.

While

this species exactly resembles C. sicula in color,it isreadily distinguishedby^itsshorter,

more

_bristly tail. Inthischarac terit differs from all the

known _European members

of thegenus

and

agreeswiththe Asiatic C. myoides, C. ilensis,

and

C. lignicolor.

Sorex macropygmseus

sp. nov.

Type, Adultmale (skin

and

skull) No._84,012,United StatesNational

Museum.

No. 8019,

Leonhard

Stejneger. Collected at Petropaulski,

Kamchatka, September

^{23, 1897,}

by

Mrs. Stejneger,

Miller

yew

Asiatic $hr<>tr&.

159

Characters. In generalappearance ^{similar to tiores} ininutu* but size considerably greater(hindfoot, 13, greatest lengthof skull, 17).

Color. Upperparts sepia, slightly darker across

lumbar

_region, and

becoming

paleronsides

where

a ratherabruptchangetakes place^tothe broccoli-brown of the underparts, Tail _{distinctly bicolor,} dark _sepia above

and

al tip. lightshining broccoli-brown beneath. Feetlikeunder surface of tail.

Skull

and

teeth.

The

skull throughout ^is larger than that of tforex minutun, forming ⁱⁿthis respect anexact intermediate between that of the

pigmy

^shrew

and

tfore.r (ira/tettx. Inform it isnotpeculiar.

Teethas in tfore.vininntux except that the thirdand fourthunicuspids are subequal

when

viewed from the side, that is the fourth is not dis tinctlysmallerthanthe thirdas inthe casein S. minutu*.

MenMure)nent#. External

measurements

of type*: ^total length, 107:

head and_body, 70; tailvertebne, 37; hindfoot, 13_(12).

Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length, ^17.0 (lo.4)f; greatest postorbital breadth, ^8.4 (7.6); greatest antorbital breadth, ^{4.4 (4): least} interorbital breadth, ^3.4 (2.8); mandible,⁸ (6.6); entiremaxillary tooth- row, 7.6 (6.8); entire mandibulartoothrow, 7(6).

Xpccuiien* '.rtmntied. Three(one in alcohol),^allfrom_{the typelocality.}

*From

^fresh specimenby^collector.

f

Measurements

in parenthesis are those of an adult tiorex minuius from_Upsala, Sweden.