Newmark's shrew (''Crocidura newmarki'') 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 ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. It is restricted to Mt. Meru, where it is one of two endemic mammals, alongside Verhagen's brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys verhageni''). It inhabits

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 ...

and heath above the treeline. It has a head to rump length of 65–85 mm, a tail of 45–60 mm and a weight of 6–11 g. The hairs are gray with brown tips. It is named in honor of American

conservation biologist Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

William T. Newmark, who conducted significant research into the biodiversity of Tanzania. It is considered

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

as its mountain habitats may be threatened in the future by

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and possibly disturbance from tourism.

References

Crocidura Endemic fauna of Tanzania Mammals of Tanzania Mammals described in 2015 {{Taxonbar, from=Q27902018