Surdisorex schlitteri
| Surdisorex schlitteri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Soricidae |
| Genus: | Surdisorex |
| Species: | S. schlitteri |
| Binomial name | |
|
Surdisorex schlitteri Peterhans, Stanley, Hutterer, Demos & Agwanda, 2009 |
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The genus Surdisorex represents Kenya’s only endemic genus of mammal. Prior to the description of the Mount Elgon mole shrew (Surdisorex schlitteri), the genus included two species from the highlands of central Kenya; the Aberdare mole shrew (S. norae) restricted to the Aberdare Range and the Mount Kenya mole shrew (S. polulus) restricted to Mount Kenya.
Represented by a single specimen, the Mount Elgon mole shrew is known to date only from the ericaceous zone of Mt. Elgon in Western Kenya. In 1984, a specimen of the genus Surdisorex was collected on a footpath at 3150 m of the Kenyan slope of Mt. Elgon. It was described as third member of the genus Surdisorex by Kerbis Peterhans et al. (2009). On the basis of skull length measurements, Surdisorex schlitteri is intermediate between S. norae and S. polulus in size. The scientific name honors Dr. Duane Schlitter, in recognition of his substantial contributions to the understanding of African small mammals and his longstanding support of Kenyan scientific research. The Mount Elgon mole shrew is listed as data deficient because it is only known from a single specimen.
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