Chodsigoa furva

CHODSIGOA FURVA ANTHONY, 1941

( FIGS 7, S 2)

Common names : Dusky long-tailed shrew; 烟黑缺齿鼩 (Yanhei Quechiqu)

Chodsigoa smithii furva Anthony, 1941: 71 .

Chodsigoa parca furva View in CoL – Hoffmann, 1985: 475.

Holotype: AMNH 114620 About AMNH . An adult male collected by H. E. Anthony on 21 January 1939. Skin and skull in good condition.

Type locality: Imaw Bum , North Myanmar. Altitude: 9000 feet (≈ 2750 m) .

Diagnosis: Distinguished from other Chodsigoa species by the combination of middle size, relatively long tail lacking a tuft of hair at the tip and narrower zygomatic plate. Tail is longer than the HB (TL/HB = 120%), so relatively longer than those of C. hypsibia (TL/HB ≤ 100%), C. parva (TL/HB ≤ 100%) and C. sodalis (TL/HB = 100%). End of tail naked without a tuft of hair on the tip, in contrast to C. hoffmanni , C. hypsibia , C. parca , C. parva and C. sodalis , which have tufts of longer hair on the tip of tail. Braincase dome-shaped, higher than those of C. caovansunga and C. hypsibia . Rostrum abruptly narrowed in the premaxillary area, in contrast to all species of Chodsigoa but C. smithii . Zygomatic plate narrower than all other species.

Description: A medium-sized Chodsigoa species, with a long tail (TL/HB = 120%). Dorsal pelage dark grey, ventral pelage slighter paler. Tail not sharply bicoloured, dark brown above and paler below. No tuft of longer hair on the tip of the tail. Dorsal surface of fore feet and hind feet are covered by short brown hair. Hind feet are relatively long. Braincase is well-domed. Rostrum sharply narrowed in the premaxillary region. Zygomatic plate is narrower than in all other species of Chodsigoa . Primary cusp of upper incisor is long. Upper unicuspids overlap slightly. Upper M 3 reduced, but talon is well developed. Ascending ramus is noticeably broader at the level of the upper sigmoid notch. Coronoid spicule is clearly at the level of upper sigmoid notch.

Comparisons: Chodsigoa furva is morphologically similar to its sister species C. smithii in overall smaller size. The rostrum in these two species narrows sharply in the premaxillary region, in contrast to all other species, in which the rostrum tapers gradually in premaxillary region. Body size is smaller than that of C. smithii , larger than that of C. parva , but similar to all other species. Tail is longer than HB, unlike tails of C. hypsibia , C. parva and C. sodalis . This species has a tail that is not clearly bicoloured; the ventral surface is only slightly paler than the dorsum; this character is similar to C. parva , but different from all other species. Chodsigoa furva differs from all other species by having the narrowest zygomatic plate in this genus. The coronoid process is lower and shorter than in C. smithii .

Comments: This species was originally described as a subspecies of C. smithii ( Anthony, 1941) based on a single specimen. Hoffmann (1985) considered it a subspecies of C. parca ; however, C. furva obviously differs from C. parca on its sharply narrowed rostrum ( Figs 6, 7).

Distribution: Known from the type locality in northern Myanmar and two localities in northwestern Yunnan, China. All individuals were captured at elevations higher than 2000 m. We assume that this species is a high-elevation inhabitant, adapted to relatively cool environments, and thus, it likely occurs throughout high mountain areas in north Myanmar and western Yunnan.