Güldenstädt's shrew (''Crocidura gueldenstaedtii'') is a species of mammal in the family
Soricidae. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the
lesser white-toothed shrew
The lesser white-toothed shrew (''Crocidura suaveolens'') is a tiny shrew with a widespread distribution in Africa, Asia and Europe. Its preferred habitat is scrub and gardens and it feeds on insects, arachnids, worms, gastropods, newts and sm ...
(''C. suaveolens''), but more recent studies support it being a distinct species.
It is named after
Johann Anton Güldenstädt.
It has a wide range throughout
Europe, from
Spain west to
Russia, and south through the
Caucasus to the
Middle East, as far south as the
Sinai Peninsula in
Egypt. Mummified shrews from the beginning of the
Ptolemaic Period at
Quesna
Quesna ( ar, قويسنا ) is a city in Monufia Governorate, Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia vi ...
, Egypt, have also been identified to this species, indicating that it once occurred in the
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
, where it no longer does, supporting a moister regional environment at the time.
It contains several subspecies from
western Europe and the island of
Cyprus that may represent distinct species of their own.
References
External links
* Insectivore Specialist Group 1996.
Crocidura gueldenstaedtii 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.
Crocidura
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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