Sicilian shrew
| Sicilian shrew[1] | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Soricidae |
| Genus: | Crocidura |
| Species: | C. sicula
|
| Binomial name | |
| Crocidura sicula Miller, 1900
| |
| Sicilian shrew range | |
The Sicilian shrew (Crocidura sicula) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Sicily (Italy) and Gozo (Malta). Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland.
Distribution and habitat
It is present in Sicily and Ustica (C. s. sicula), in the Egadi Islands (C. s. aegatensis) and in Gozo (C. s. calypso). It lives in open environments of gariga or Mediterranean scrub but also within lyce, cork and beech forest formations, from 0 to 1,800 m (0 to 5,906 ft) above sea level. Sometimes it is also present within citrus groves and cultivated areas as well as, rarely, in rural dwellings.
Subspecies
Four subspecies of the Sicilian shrew are found:
- Crocidura sicula sicula - on the island of Sicily[3]
- Crocidura sicula aegatensis - on the Aegadian Islands[3]
- Crocidura sicula calypso - on the island of Gozo[3]
- Crocidura sicula esuae - a fossil form from the Middle Pleistocene of Sicily, larger than living individuals, though other authors have suggested that this represents an extinct species that was replaced by C. sicula.[4]
Maltese Occurrence
The Maltese subspecies Crocidura sicula calypso is found on Gozo and has also been recorded on Comino, but is absent from mainland Malta.[5] Known locally as il-ġurdien geddumu twil ta' Għawdex ("long-chinned shrew of Gozo"), it lives in scrub, garigue and farmland, is mainly nocturnal, and is protected under Maltese and EU law due to threats such as pesticides and predation by cats.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Giovanni Amori (2016). "Crocidura sicula". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T29655A2791535. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T29655A2791535.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "The Maltese Ecology". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
- ^ MANUEL LÓPEZ-GARCÍA, JUAN; BLAIN, HUGUES-ALEXANDRE; PAGANO, ENRICO; OLLÉ, ANDREU; MARIA VERGÈS, JOSEP; FORGIA, VINCENZA (2013-07-31). "The Small Mammals (Insectivores, Bats and Rodents) from the Holocene Archaeological Site of Vallone Inferno (Scillato, Lower Imera Valley, Northwestern Sicily)". Rivista italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 119: 2. doi:10.13130/2039-4942/6037.
- ^ a b "BioSnippet" (PDF). era.org.mt. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- Sarà M. & Vitturi R. (1996). "Crocidura populations (Mammalia, Soricidae) from the sicilian–maltese insular area" (PDF). Hystrix. 8 (1–2): 121–132. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-15.