The piebald shrew (Diplomesodon pulchellus) is a shrew found in the Turan Lowland east of the Caspian Sea in Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Piebald shrew[1]
Piebald shrew in Moscow Zoo
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Diplomesodon
Species:
D. pulchellus
Binomial name
Diplomesodon pulchellus
(Lichtenstein, 1823)
Piebald shrew range
Synonyms
  • Sorex pulchellus
  • Diplomesodon pulchellum

It grows to 2 inches (5.1 cm) to 2.75 inches (7.0 cm) in length, and usually hunts for insects and lizards at night.

Taxonomy

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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.[3] The American Society of Mammalogists considers D. sonnerati to be a subspecies of the piebald shrew, if it exists.[4]

References

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  1. ^ 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. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Tsytsulina, K.; Formozov, N. & Sheftel, B. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Diplomesodon pulchellus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T41448A115186837. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T41448A22293795.en.
  3. ^ Cheke, A. (2011). "Sonnerat's shrew - evidence for a new and possibly extinct species in an early 19th century manuscript (Mammalia: Soricidae)" (PDF). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 108 (2): 95–97.
  4. ^ "Diplomesodon pulchellus. Explore the Database". www.mammaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  • Animal, Smithsonian Institution, 2005.