The Sulawesi shrew (''Crocidura lea'') 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 central and northern provinces of

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is a fairly common species and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy

The Sulawesi shrew was first described in 1921 by the American zoologists Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. and Hollister as ''Crocidura lea''. The type locality was Temboan in North Sulawesi. ''Crocidura lea'' is part of an assemblage of shrews endemic to northern and central Sulawesi which also includes the Sulawesi white-handed shrew (''Crocidura rhoditis''), the black-footed shrew (''Crocidura nigripes''), the elongated shrew (''Crocidura elongata'') and the mossy forest shrew (''Crocidura musseri''). ''Crocidura lea'' is the smallest of this assemblage and on Sulawesi, only the

Sulawesi tiny shrew The Sulawesi tiny shrew (''Crocidura levicula'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oc ...

(''Crocidura levicula'') is smaller, and it is native to eastern Sulawesi.

Description

The Sulawesi shrew is one of the smallest of the white-toothed shrews; it lacks the deposits of iron in the enamel of the teeth which is seen in the red-toothed shrews. The dorsal pelage is short and velvety, being greyish-brown or reddish-brown and the underside is paler.

Distribution and habitat

The Sulawesi shrew is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where it is found in the central and northern parts of the island, at altitudes of up to about . Its typical habitat is primary tropical forests, but it seems able to survive in secondary forests as well. The extent to which it can adapt to degraded habitat is unclear.

Behaviour

The Sulawesi shrew is thought to be nocturnal but very little is known of its natural history and behaviour. Like other members of its family it lives among the leaf litter and is insectivorous and is likely to eat insects and small arthropods.

Status

The Sulawesi shrew is fairly common in some locations and is regularly caught in pitfall traps. The population trend is unknown but no particular threats to this species have been recognised. It has a wide range, and the

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1769842 Crocidura Endemic fauna of Indonesia Mammals of Sulawesi Taxa named by Ned Hollister Taxa named by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. Mammals described in 1921 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot