According to the current taxonomy, the Myosoricinae are a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
of
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 ...
s. As such, they form one of three main types of shrews, the other two being the
red-toothed shrews
The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae (white-toothed shrews) and Myosoricinae (African white-toothed shrews). In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamil ...
and the
white-toothed shrews
The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.
The outer layer of these shrews' teeth is white, unlike that of the red-toothed shrews. These species are typically found in Africa and souther ...
. They are the only one of the three to be found exclusively south of the
Sahara Desert
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, and so they have been described in English as the African shrews, but also many white-toothed shrews are in Africa and therefore this term is more generally used for shrews from Africa in general. (Another vernacular term is African white-toothed shrews, though this perpetuates the same confusion.) The subfamily has three genera and 20 species:
*Subfamily Myosoricinae
**Genus ''
Congosorex'' - Congo shrews
***
Phillips' Congo shrew, ''C. phillipsorum''
***
Greater Congo shrew, ''C. polli''
***
Lesser Congo shrew, ''C. verheyeni''
**Genus ''
Myosorex'' - forest and mouse shrews
***
Babault's mouse shrew, ''M. babaulti''
***
Montane mouse shrew, ''M. blarina''
***
Bururi forest shrew, ''M. bururiensis''
***
Dark-footed mouse shrew, ''M. cafer''
***
Eisentraut's mouse shrew, ''M. eisentrauti''
***
Geata mouse shrew, ''M. geata''
***
Nyika mouse shrew or Nyika burrowing shrew, ''M. gnoskei''
***
Kahuzi swamp shrew, ''M. jejei''
***
Kabogo mouse shrew ''M. kabogoensis''
***
Kihaule's mouse shrew, ''M. kihaulei''
***
Long-tailed forest shrew, ''M. longicaudatus''
***
Meester's forest shrew, ''M. meesteri''
***
Oku mouse shrew, ''M. okuensis''
***
Rumpi mouse shrew, ''M. rumpii''
***
Schaller's mouse shrew, ''M. schalleri''
***
Sclater's mouse shrew, ''M. sclateri''
***
Thin mouse shrew, ''M. tenuis''
***
Forest shrew, ''M. varius''
***
Kilimanjaro mouse shrew, ''M. zinki''
**Genus ''
Surdisorex'' - African mole shrews
***
Aberdare mole shrew
The Aberdare mole shrew (''Surdisorex norae'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to the Aberdare Mountains in Kenya
)
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, ''S. norae''
***
Mount Kenya mole shrew, ''S. polulus''
***
Mount Elgon mole shrew, ''S. schlitteri''
According to Furió et al.(2007) the group should have the status of tribe, as a relict of the primitive subfamily Crocidosoricinae.
[Reumer, 1987]
References
{{shrew-stub