Crocidura hildegardeae

Thomas, 1904

Hildegarde's Shrew

Figure 1. Photograph by B. Stanley.

Figure 2. FMNH 158648. Photograph by R. Banasiak.

Type Description:

Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 14:240.

Type Locality:

Kenya, Fort Hall.

Measurements:

Total length: 100-146 mm

Head and body: 55-84 mm

Tail length: 38-67 mm

Hindfoot length: 8-19 mm

Ear length: 7-11 mm

Weight: 8-11 g

Description:

This small shrew is a common resident in some Tanzanian forests. Males tend to be larger than females. The pelage on the top of the body is the colour of milk-chocolate, and the underside of the body is lighter. The hindlimbs are bicoloured, dark on the outside, and more pale on the inside. The tail is about two-thirds of the length of head and body, with long guard hairs on the first third of the length.

Comparisons:

Sylvisorex howelli is similar size and colour, but has one extra unicuspid tooth in the upper toothrow.

Distribution:

One of the more widespread eastern African montane species, Crocidura hildegardeae lives in all vegetation types and altitudes but prefers particularly moister areas in the Eastern Arc Mountains, like the West Usambaras, as well as volcanic origin mountains such as Mt. Meru. (Kingdon, 1984, 1997) (Stanley et. al., 1996) In Tanzania, this species has been recorded in a variety of mountains, including Mt. Meru, Kilimanjaro, East Usambara and Udzungwa Mountains, and Mt. Rungwe.

Figure 3.

Ecological Notes:

This species has been collected in both dry and wet forests of montane and highland areas, in both undisturbed and disturbed habitats. In a recent survey of the Udzungwa Mountains, C. hildegardeae was the most common shrew in drier forests at 900 m and less common in wetter forests above 1000 m.

Key Reference:

1. Kingdon, J. 1984. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Insectivores and Bats). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2A:95-109.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 145-146.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1:202-203, 218-222.
4. Stanley, W. T., S. M. Goodman, and R. Hutterer. 1996. Notes on the insectivores and elephant shrews of the Chome Forest, South Pare Mountains, Tanzania. Zoologische Abhandlungen Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden, 49:131-147.
5. Swynnerton, G. H., and R. W. Hayman. 1951. A checklist of the land mammals of the Tanganyika Territory and the Zanzibar Protectorate. Journal of the East African Natural History Society, 20(6):274-392.