''Crocidura phanluongi'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different fa ...

in the genus '' Crocidura'' from southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and nearby

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. It is a somewhat small, gray shrew with an ecologically diverse distribution.

Taxonomy

''Crocidura phanluongi'' was first collected in 2006 in

Virachey National Park Virachey National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិវីរជ័យ) is a national park in north-eastern Cambodia covering an area of . The park is one of only two Cambodian ASEAN Heritage Parks. The park overlaps Ratanakiri and Stung ...

of northeastern Cambodia and subsequently, in 2007, in three localities in southern Vietnam. In total, six specimens are known from Cambodia and seven from Vietnam. In 2010, Paulina Jenkins and coworkers described it as a new species of ''Crocidura'', with the type locality at Yok Đôn National Park, Đắk Lắk Province, Vietnam. The description appeared in ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

'' on January 27, 2010.Jenkins et al., 2010, p. 61 Six other new species of ''Crocidura'' have been described from Vietnam since 2004. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''phanluongi'', honors Vietnamese biologist Phan Luong, who participated in the survey that resulted in the discovery of ''C. phanluongi''.Jenkins et al., 2010, p. 62

Description

''Crocidura phanluongi'' is a small to medium-sized shrew with a relatively long tail. The fur is dark gray above and somewhat paler below. The upper surfaces of the feet are even paler. Cambodian specimens are gray brown above and silver-gray below. There are also some slight

morphometrical Morphometrics (from Greek μορϕή ''morphe'', "shape, form", and -μετρία ''metria'', "measurement") or morphometry refers to the quantitative analysis of ''form'', a concept that encompasses size and shape. Morphometric analyses are co ...

variations among the known specimens.Jenkins et al., 2010, p. 65 The head and body length is 54 to 66 mm (2.1 to 2.6 in), averaging 59.6 mm (2.35 in); tail length is 40 to 48 mm (1.6 to 1.9 in), averaging 44.4 mm (1.75 in); the hindfoot length is 10 to 12 mm (0.39 to 0.47 in), averaging 11.7 mm (0.46 in); and the condylobasal length (a measure of skull length) is 16.8 to 18.1 mm (0.66 to 0.71 in), averaging 17.4 mm (0.69 in).Jenkins et al., 2010, table 1 In the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

, the interorbital region is narrow. The upper third molar is slender and the

talonid The molars or molar teeth are large, flat teeth at the back of the mouth. They are more developed in mammals. They are used primarily to grind food during chewing. The name ''molar'' derives from Latin, ''molaris dens'', meaning "millstone to ...

of the lower third molar is reduced.

Ecology and behavior

''Crocidura phanluongi'' has a relatively broad distribution, extending through at least three

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s—

southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests The Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of Indochina. Setting The ecoregion covers an area of , extending across portions of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Southeastern Indochi ...

central Indochina dry forests The Central Indochina dry forests are a large tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregion in Southeast Asia. Location and description The ecoregion consists of an area of plateau and low river basin in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and ...

, and

southern Vietnam lowland dry forests The Southern Vietnam lowland dry forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0211) covers the low, relatively arid coastal strip of southern Vietnam on the South China Sea. The region is in the rain shadow of the Southern Annamite Range, which blocks humid air ...

. All specimens were caught in forest.Jenkins et al., 2010, pp. 65–66

Footnotes

References

Literature cited

*Jenkins, P. D., Lunde, D. P. and Moncrieff, C. B. 2009
Descriptions of new species of ''Crocidura'' (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from mainland Southeast Asia, with synopses of previously described species and remarks on biogeography.
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 331:356–405. *Jenkins, P. D., Abramov, A. V., Rozhnov, V. V. and Olsson, A. 2010
A new species of ''Crocidura'' (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from southern Vietnam and north-eastern Cambodia
(abstract only). Zootaxa 2345:60–68. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5187301 phanluongi Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of Vietnam Mammals described in 2010 Taxa named by Alexei V. Abramov