Molecular Analysis Reveals New White Toothed Shrew Species in Vietnam
Posted on July 2, 2013
A new species of white toothed shrew gas been identified in Vietnam. The new species, Crocidura sapaensis, was discovered when recent genetic analysis of the white toothed shrew fauna of Vietnam revealed the misinterpretations of previous morphological studies of the species. The new species was reported here in ZooKeys.
The new species Crocidura sapaensis is a dark-grey and relatively small white toothed shrew. It was named after the Sa Pa District in Vietnam, where it was collected. The animals were found living in mixed evergreen forest, banks of small streams and open grassy glades.
Paulina Jenkins, a zoologist at London's Natural History Museum, said in a statement, "Our study concerns three species of Crocidura occurring in Vietnam, namely C. attenuata, C. tanakae and C. wuchihensis, and we came across an undescribed fourth species revealed by molecular analysis. While the molecular studies of Vietnamese material confirmed some of the results of the contemporaneous morphological studies, a number of anomalies were equally revealed, indicating the presence of several morphologically similar but molecularly distinct taxa."