thin mouse shrew

Myosorex tenuis was first described by Thomas and Schwann in 1905, and was often considered a synonym or subspecies of M. cafer.{{Cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289232208 |title=Mammals of Africa: Volume IV: Hedgehogs, shrews and bats |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Pub |isbn=978-1-4081-2254-9 |editor-last=Happold |editor-first=D. C. D. |location=London New York |pages=160–161 |editor-last2=Happold |editor-first2=Meredith}} It is not accepted by all taxonomic analyses, partly due to a lack of accessible definitively identified specimens.{{Cite journal |last1=Willows-Munro |first1=Sandi |last2=Matthee |first2=Conrad A. |date=2009-05-01 |title=The evolution of the southern African members of the shrew genus Myosorex: Understanding the origin and diversification of a morphologically cryptic group |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790309000451 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=394–398 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2009.02.012 |pmid=19248834 |bibcode=2009MolPE..51..394W |issn=1055-7903}} Taylor et al., in a 2013 paper, provisionally identified a newly described species of Myosorex with the previously described species M. tenuis, but the identification is uncertain. Their identification was based primarily on genetic data.{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Peter John |last2=Kearney |first2=Teresa Catherine |last3=Kerbis Peterhans |first3=Julian C. |last4=Baxter |first4=Roderick M. |last5=Willows-Munro |first5=Sandi |date=2013-12-01 |title=Cryptic diversity in forest shrews of the genus Myosorex from southern Africa, with the description of a new species and comments on Myosorex tenuis |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/169/4/881/2420773 |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=169 |issue=4 |pages=881–902 |doi=10.1111/zoj12083 |issn=0024-4082}}

Myosorex tenuis is a medium-sized shrew with dark fur.

It is sometimes distinguished from other species of the genus by a smaller skull size, but species in this genus are typically difficult to morphologically identify due to significant intra-species variation.{{Cite journal |last1=Matthews |first1=Thalassa |last2=Stynder |first2=Deano D. |date=2011-01-01 |title=An analysis of two Myosorex species (Soricidae) from the Early Pliocene site of Langebaanweg (West coast, South Africa) using geometric morphometrics, linear measurements, and non-metric characters |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016699510001129 |journal=Geobios |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=87–99 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2010.07.003 |bibcode=2011Geobi..44...87M |issn=0016-6995}} It is primarily separated from the similar M. cafer by genetic differences and habitat, and is estimated by Taylor et al to have diverged from its nearest genetic relative, M. varius, approximately 2.7 million years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Matamba |first1=Emmanuel |last2=Richards |first2=Leigh R. |last3=Cherry |first3=Michael I. |last4=Rambau |first4=Ramugondo V. |date=2020 |title=DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy of dark-footed forest shrew Myosorex cafer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |url=https://www.senckenberg.de/de/wissenschaft/publikationen/wissenschaftliche-zeitschriften/vertebrate-zoology/archiv/vz-70-4-08/ |journal=Vertebrate Zoology |doi=10.26049/VZ70-4-2020-08}} A 2023 climatic niche modelling study proposes that the divergence from M. varius was due to habitat contraction during a interglacial cycle; the divergence roughly coincided with the start of the Pleistocene glacial cycles.{{Cite journal |last1=Pahad |first1=Govan |last2=Jansen van Vuuren |first2=Bettine |last3=Montgelard |first3=Claudine |date=2023-12-01 |title=Palaeoclimatic niche modelling reveals the phylogeographic history of the South African shrew Myosorex varius and the colonisation route of the genus Myosorex (Mammalia, Soricidae) from East Africa |journal=Mammalian Biology |language=en |volume=103 |issue=6 |pages=579–590 |doi=10.1007/s42991-023-00377-0 |issn=1618-1476|doi-access=free }}

The species habitat is Afromontane grassland, and they are more common at higher elevations. Specimens have primarily been collected from wetlands and moist grassland. The species was originally identified in Wakkerstroom District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, while the species identified by Taylor et al provisionally identified with M. tenuis is found in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The species range may reach Eswatini and Mozambique. Due to its limited range and the loss and fragmentation of grassland habitat, the species is considered endangered, though there is no clear estimate of its population numbers. Modelling by Taylor et al. estimates a 35–41% decrease in their habitat from 1975 to 2050; threats include mining, overgrazing, and expansion of human settlement in the region.

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Category:Endemic fauna of South Africa

Category:Myosorex

Category:Mammals of South Africa

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

Category:Mammals described in 1905

Category:Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas