Soriculus is a genus of shrew native to the Himalayas, the adjacent Hengduan Mountains and surrounding areas. There is generally only one recognised species, Soriculus nigrescens, (as other extant species previously assigned to the genus had been transferred to other genera), though in 2023 and 2024 additional living species of the genus were proposed.
Taxonomy
The genus
Soriculus is placed within the tribe
Nectogalini. Several former species of the genus has been moved to other genera such as
Chodsigoa and
Episoriculus.
Species from the extinct European genus
Asoriculus were also included here at one point. Currently the genus contains the extinct species
Soriculus kashmiriensis and
Soriculus kubinyi,
although in its description
S. kashmiriensis was noted for being most closely related to species now placed in the genus
Chodsigoa.
DNA research has confirmed the close relationship of
Soriculus with the recently extinct
Asoriculus and
Nesiotites shrews from Europe.
Until 2023, only a single species Soriculus nigrescens, was generally considered valid. In 2023 two additional living species belonging to the genus, Soriculus nivatus and Soriculus medogensis were proposed, with S. minor, previously regarded as a subspecies of Soriculus nigrescens, being proposed as a distinct valid species.
Species
-
Soriculus nigrescens (Gray, 1842) native to the southern Himalayas, from Nepal to northern Myanmar from an altitude of 700 m to 4500 m
Proposed species
-
Soriculus minor Dobson, 1890 native to the eastern Himalayas, from Bhutan to northern Myanmar as well as southwest China (northwest Yunnan) at an elevation of 1400 m to 2630 m
-
Soriculus nivatus Chen & Jiang, 2023, native to the eastern Himalayas in Tibet, at an altitude of 2560 m to 4200 m
-
Soriculus medogensis Chen & Jiang, 2023, only known from southeastern Tibet, at an altitude of 2100 m to 2830 m
-
Soriculus beibengensis Pei et al, 2024. only known from southeastern Tibet at an altitude of 1500 m to 2125 m
Ecology
Species of
Soriculus inhabit
Montane forest.
Soriculus nigrescens has been suggested to be
fossorial.
Notes
