Fraser's musk shrew

Fraser's musk shrew
Conservation status
Least Concern(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	Soricidae
Genus:	Crocidura
Species:	C. poensis
Binomial name
Crocidura poensis (Fraser,1843)
Fraser's musk shrew range

Fraser's musk shrew(Crocidura poensis) is a species ofmammalin the familySoricidae.It is found inBenin,Cameroon,Ivory Coast,Equatorial Guinea,Ghana,Guinea,Liberia,Nigeria,São Tomé and Príncipe,Sierra Leone,andTogo.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This large black shrew wasfirst describedby the British zoologistLouis Fraserin 1843. Its exact definition is unclear; thekaryotypecomes from Ivory Coast but not from Equatorial Guinea, which is given as the type locality.

Distribution and habitat

Fraser's musk shrew is native to tropical western and central Africa. Its range extends from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia through Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria to Cameroon. Its range may extend further to the east than Cameroon because there is some confusion between its range and that of the very similarBates's shrew(Crocidura batesi), a species which is found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Fraser's musk shrew is also present on the islands ofSão Tomé and Príncipe,located in theGulf of Guinea.Its altitudinal range is between sea level and a few hundred metres. It typically occurs in primary forest and forest remnants, but has also been recorded from grasslands, grass clearings, savannah and farm bush.

Status

Fraser's musk shrew is a little known but locally common species with a wide range and a presumed large total population. No particular threats have been recognised and it is able to some extent to adapt to habitats disturbed by man. For these reasons, theInternational Union for Conservation of Naturehas assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".