The Merida small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis meridensis'') is a species 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 ...

that 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 ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Description

''C. meridensis'' is one of the largest

small-eared shrew The genus ''Cryptotis'' is a group of relatively small shrews with short ears, which are usually not visible, and short tails, commonly called small-eared shrews. They have 30 teeth and are members of the red-toothed shrew subfamily. Since 1992, ...

s, with a head-body length of and a tail long. Males and females are of similar size, with adults weighing between . The fur is long, and chocolate brown over most of the body, fading to olive brown on the underside. Both the eyes and the ears are relatively small and are indistinct on external examination. The forepaws are large compared with other shrews, and have long claws. However, the species may be most easily distinguished from other small-eared shrews living in the same area by its upper canine teeth, which are unusually small, and are missing on one or both sides of the mouth in about 25% of individuals. Females have four teats, located on the inguinal region, while males have small, indistinct, scent glands on the flanks.

Distribution and habitat

Merida small-eared shrews are found only in mountainous regions of the

n states of Trujillo, Mérida, and Táchira. They inhabit

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s and sub-alpine

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

habitats between elevation. It may also be found in areas of disturbed forest or secondary scrubland bordering its natural habitat, but is more commonly found where vegetation is dense and leaf-litter is thick. There are no recognised subspecies.

Behaviour and biology

The Merida small-eared shrews feed primarily on invertebrates, such as

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...

s and

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...

s. They are relatively indiscriminate in the invertebrates they prey on, but about 70% of their diet consists of creatures found below the soil, rather than on the surface. They have also been reported to scavenge on dead vertebrates, and occasionally to feed on eggs or newborn rodents. Although restricted to a relatively small geographic area, Merida small-eared shrews are common within their habitat, with population densities of up to having been reported. Predators include

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

s, hawks,

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...

s, long-tailed weasels, and

mountain coati Mountain coatis are two species of procyonid mammals from the genus ''Nasuella''. Unlike the larger coatis from the genus ''Nasua'', mountain coatis only weigh and are endemic to the north Andean highlands in South America. Genetics and taxonom ...

s. Reproduction apparently continues throughout the year, although it may be more common between March and April, and again between July and October. Litters range from two to four pups, with three being typical.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1765979 Mammals of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Cryptotis Páramo fauna Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1898 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas