Piebald shrew
{{Short description|Species of mammal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Piebald shrew{{MSW3 Hutterer | pages = 255–256}}
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Diplomesodon
| species = pulchellus
| authority = (Lichtenstein, 1823)
| range_map = Piebald Shrew area.png
| range_map_caption = Piebald shrew range
| synonyms = *Sorex pulchellus
- Diplomesodon pulchellum
| image = Пегий путорак (Diplomesodon pulchellum), Gescheckte Wüstenspitzmaus, Piebald Shrew, Московский зоопарк (Moscow zoo), 18.11.2008.jpg
| image_caption = Piebald shrew in Moscow Zoo
}}
The piebald shrew (Diplomesodon pulchellus) is a shrew found in the Turan Lowland east of the Caspian Sea in Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
It grows to {{convert|2|in|cm}} to {{convert|2.75|in|cm}} in length, and usually hunts for insects and lizards at night.
Taxonomy
It is the only extant member of the genus Diplomesodon. In 2011, A. Cheke described a new and possibly extinct species based on a 19th-century manuscript: Diplomesodon sonnerati (Sonnerat's shrew). It was described again in 2018 to meet certain validity requirements of the ICZN code.{{cite journal|last=Cheke|first=A.|title=Sonnerat's shrew - evidence for a new and possibly extinct species in an early 19th century manuscript (Mammalia: Soricidae).|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|year=2011|volume=108|issue=2|pages=95–97|url=http://dodobooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Cheke-2012-Sonnerats-shrew.pdf}} The American Society of Mammalogists considers D. sonnerati to be a subspecies of the piebald shrew, if it exists.{{Cite web |title=Diplomesodon pulchellus. Explore the Database. |url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Diplomesodon&species=pulchellus&id=1004044 |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=www.mammaldiversity.org}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- Animal, Smithsonian Institution, 2005.
{{Eulipotyphla|C2.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1250357}}
Category:Mammals of Central Asia
Category:Mammals described in 1823
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