Abstract

QUIROGA-CARMONA, Marcial. Una nueva especie de musaraña del género Cryptotis (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) de la Serranía del Litoral en el norte de Venezuela. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2013, vol.20, n.1, pp.123-137. ISSN 0327-9383.

The presence of the genus Cryptotis in the Serrania del Litoral (north of Venezuela), is known only by a specimen collected in El Junquito more than 40 years ago, referred by this time to C. thomasi. Recently, two new specimens were collected in a locality near to the first finding (approximately 15 km). With the revision and morphological comparison (skull and body) of the three specimens now available, it was determined that this population represents a new species belonging to the C. thomasi group, and can be differentiated by the following combination of characteristics: philtrum with a long and thin wart, extending from the base of the rhinarium to the mouth; toes with well developed granular scales juxtaposed and arranged in three longitudinal lines; tail with large scales (26 cm); lacrimal foramen wide and deep; angular process straight, short and wide; high coronoid process and tilted forward. This population represents the second species of Cryptotis with non-Andean distribution in South America, and increases to five the number of endemic mammals of the Cordillera de la Costa, Venezuelan ecoregion that currently faces serious problems of conservation by habitat loss.

Keywords : Cordillera de la Costa; Eulipotyphla; Monumento Natural Pico Codazzi; Neotropical shrews.

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