Pearson's long-clawed shrew (''Solisorex pearsoni'') 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 the only species within the genus ''Solisorex''. 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 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. It is named after Joseph Pearson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

, Director of the Columbo Museum 1910-1933 who found it on 1 January 1924.The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals, Bo Beolens

Description

The head and body together measure and the tail is . It is dark grayish-brown above, with light tips to the hairs, and paler on the underside. The claws of forefeet are long, with the middle claw about in length. The forefeet are brown in color and the tail is dark brown above and lighter below.

References

Sources

* Insectivore Specialist Group 1996
''Solisorex pearsoni''2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 30 July 2007. White-toothed shrews Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Mammals described in 1924 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Solisorex {{whitetoothed-shrew-stub