The Lwiro shrew or Misotshi-Kabogo shrew (''Crocidura lwiroensis'') is a species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

in the family Soricidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Etymology

It is named in honor of the research team based at the Lwiro (Centre National de Recherche Scientifique) biological research station north of

Bukavu Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pr ...

Distribution and habitat

It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it is restricted to a small portion of the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

on the western shore of

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

. It is restricted to the Misotshi-Kabogo highlands, an isolated region of

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

south of the

Itombwe Mountains The Itombwe Mountains (or Itombwe Massif, Plateau) are a range of mountains in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They run along the west shore of the northern part of Lake Tanganyika. They contain a vast area o ...

. The only known specimen was found along a creek in a primary forest.

Description

It is very small in body size with a nearly naked tail. It has dark gray fur above and lighter gray fur below. It has a total length of 110 mm, a tail of 45 mm, and a weight of 5.6 g.

Status

Although classified as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

due to lack of studies, it is likely threatened by deforestation for agricultural expansion, mining concessions, as well as an increase in local population from migration by refugees from the Kivu conflict, which may impact the ecosystem.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q23498866 Crocidura Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals described in 2013