The forest shrews are the members of the genus ''Sylvisorex''. They are
mammals in the family
Soricidae and are found only in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The genus name comes from the Latin world "silva" which means "forest" and "sorex", which means "shrew-mouse". This reflects the nature of these shrews, which prefer forest habitats. All shrews are carnivorous, and eat continually to satisfy their high metabolic rate.
[Mukinzi, I.; Hutterer, R. & Barriere, P. 2009. A new species of ''Sylvisorex'' (Mammalia: Soricidae) from lowland forests north of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo. ''Mammalia'' 73 (2): 130–134.]
The genus contains these species:
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Akaibe's forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex akaibei''
*
Cameroonian forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex cameruniensis''
*
Corbet's forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex corbeti''
*
Grant's forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex granti''
*
Howell's forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex howelli''
*
Bioko forest shrew
The Bioko forest shrew or Isabella's shrew (''Sylvisorex isabellae'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and subtropical o ...
, ''Sylvisorex isabellae''
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Johnston's forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex johnstoni''
*
Kongana shrew, ''Sylvisorex konganensis''
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Moon forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex lunaris''
*
Mount Cameroon forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex morio''
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Greater forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex ollula''
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Lesser forest shrew
The lesser forest shrew (''Sylvisorex oriundus'') is a species of mammal in the family SoricidaeWilson, Don E.; Reeder, DeeAnn M. (eds.). 2005."''Sylvisorex oriundus''". ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' (3r ...
, ''Sylvisorex oriundus''
*
Rain forest shrew, ''Sylvisorex pluvialis''
*
Bamenda forest shrew
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda i ...
, ''Sylvisorex silvanorum''
*
Volcano shrew, ''Sylvisorex vulcanorum''
References
Mammal genera
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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