The Dracula shrew (''Crocidura dracula''), also known as the large white-toothed shrew, is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in

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 ...

, Laos, and adjacent southern China, with possible range extension into

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 Thailan ...

east of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

. Because it is so visually similar to the

Southeast Asian shrew The Southeast Asian shrew (''Crocidura fuliginosa'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Cambodia, India, China, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), official ...

, it has historically been considered part of the same species complex and the range delineation between the two species is still being resolved. Recent genetic evidence strongly supports that the Dracula shrew is in fact a uniquely diverged species.

Description

The Dracula shrew is a large and long-tailed shrew with a head-and-body length of between and a tail generally at least 80% of that length typically between . The coloring is smoke brown to dark grey black above fading to dark grey below and with dull white feet, the tail is often dark above and lighter below BANNIKOVA, А.А & Abramov, Alexei & BORISENKO, А.V. & Lebedev, Vladimir & Rozhnov, Viatcheslav. (2011). Mitochondrial diversity of the white-toothed shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Crocidura) in Vietnam. Zootaxa. 2812. 1-20. 10.11646/zootaxa.2812.1.1.

Ecology

Like other members of the shrew subfamily Crocurinae, the Dracula shrew is an insectivore.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q41082398 Crocidura Mammals of Asia Mammals of Southeast Asia Mammals of Vietnam Mammals of China Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of Laos Mammals described in 1912