Taxonomic status of Suncus etruscus in China and the first record of the genus Suncus from the Xizang Autonomous Region

doi:10.16829/j.slxb.151089

Abstract

Abstract: Suncus etruscus (Savi 1822) is among the smallest known mammals. In October 2024, a specimen of the genus Suncus was collected from Delgong Village (29°08'32″N, 95°15'29″E) in Motuo County, Nyingchi City, Xizang Autonomous Region. This represents the first record of the genus Suncus in Xizang. The external morphology of the specimen is generally consistent with previous descriptions of S. etruscus. However, phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial Cyt b gene showed that this specimen clusters with the clade formed by S. malayanus and S. fellowesgordoni, with average genetic distances of 8. 5% and 8. 9%, respectively. The genetic distance between this specimen and the near-type-locality sample of S. etruscus from Italy was 10. 3%, indicating a significant genetic divergence. This finding suggests that the S. etruscus distributed in China has certain differentiation from those in other regions. Given the rarity of specimens, the taxonomic status of the species in China needs to be further studied. Additionally, in 2022, we received a S. etruscus specimen from Jammu and Kashmir. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial Cyt b gene revealed that it forms a monophyletic clade with the Madagascan subspecies of the Etruscan shrew (S. e. madagascariensis), with an average genetic distance of 1. 6%. We confirm that the specimen from Pakistan is S. e. madagascariensis.

Key words: Suncus, New record, Phylogeny, Motuo

摘要： 小臭鼩Suncus etruscus （Savi 1822）是已知体型最小的哺乳动物之一。在2024年10月，于西藏自治区林芝市墨脱县德尔贡村（北纬29°08′32″，东经95°15′29″）采集到1只臭鼩属标本，这是臭鼩属在西藏自治区的首次记录。该标本的外形与小臭鼩的外形描述基本一致。但基于线粒体Cyt b基因的系统发育分析显示该标本与物种S.malayanus和S.fellowesgordoni构成的支系聚为一支，与两者的平均遗传距离分别为8.5%和8.9%。该标本与意大利近模式产地小臭鼩样本的遗传距离为10.3%，存在着较大的遗传差异。本研究认为中国分布的“小臭鼩”与其他地区的小臭鼩存在一定的分化，其分类地位仍需进一步确定。另于2022年获赠1号来自克什米尔的小臭鼩标本，系统发育分析表明其与小臭鼩马达加斯加亚种（S.e.madagascariensis）构成单系，平均遗传距离为1.6%，确定该标本为小臭鼩马达加斯加亚种。

关键词: 臭鼩属, 新纪录, 系统发育, 墨脱

CLC Number:

Q958.3

LIU Qing, PENG Buqing, DENG Yu, LIU Shuang, WANG Jing, GUO Keji, GUO Xianglong, Abu ul Hassan Faiz, LIU Shaoying, CHEN Shunde. Taxonomic status of Suncus etruscus in China and the first record of the genus Suncus from the Xizang Autonomous Region[J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(4): 544-554.

刘庆, 彭步青, 邓榆, 刘霜, 王晶, 郭克疾, 郭祥龙, Abu ul Hassan Faiz, 刘少英, 陈顺德. 小臭鼩分类地位的探讨及西藏自治区兽类一新纪录属[J]. 兽类学报, 2026, 46(4): 544-554.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.mammal.cn/EN/10.16829/j.slxb.151089

https://www.mammal.cn/EN/Y2026/V46/I4/544

References

Aulagnier S, Hutterer R, Jenkins P, Bukhnikashvili A, Kryštufek B, Kock D, 2017. Suncus etruscus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species[M]. 2017:e. T90389138A22288134. DOI:10.2305/IUCN. UK. 2017-2. RLTS. T90389138A22288134. en.
Blanco J C,1998. Mamíferos de España[M]. Barcelona:Planeta.
Bradley R D,Baker R J,2001. A test of the genetic species concept:cytochrome b sequences and mammals[J]. Journal of Mammalogy, 82:960-973. DOI:10.1644/1545-1542 (2001) 082< 0960:ATOTGS>2. 0. CO;2.
Burgin C J,He K,2018. Family Soricidae (shrews)[M]//Wilson D E, Mittermeier R A eds. Handbook of the mammals of the world, Vol. 8, insectivores, sloths and colugos. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions,332-551.
Coquerel C, 1848. Note sur une espèce nouvelle de musaraigne trouvée à Madagascar[J]. Annales des Sciences Naturelles,Zoologie,9:193-198.
Corbet G B,Hill J E,1992. Mammals of the Indomalayan region:a systematic review[M]. Oxford:Oxford University Press,488.
Coşkun Y, Kaya A, 2013. Additional records of Suncus etruscus(Savi,1822)(Mammalia:Soricidae) from Southeastern Anatolia,Turkey[J]. IUFS Journal of Biology,72 (2):31-35.
Chen S D,Liu S Y,Liu Y,He K,Chen W C,Zhang X Y,Fan Z X,Tu F Y,Jia X D,Yue B S,2012. Molecular phylogeny of Asiatic short-tailed shrews, genus Blarinella Thomas, 1911(Mammalia:Soricomorpha:Soricidae) and its taxonomic implications[J]. Zootaxa, 3250 (1):43-53. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa. 3250. 1. 3.
Chen S D,Tang K Y,Wang X M,Li F J,Fu C K,Liu Y,Abu Ul Hassan Faiz,Jiang X L,Liu S Y,2022. Multi-locus phylogeny and species delimitations of the striped-back shrew group(Eulipotyphla:Soricidae):implications for cryptic diversity, taxonomy and multiple speciation patterns[J]. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 177:107619. DOI:10.1016/j. ympev. 2022. 107619.
Dubey S, Salamin N, Ohdachi S D, Barrière P, Vogel P, 2007.Molecular phylogenetics of shrews (Mammalia:Soricidae) reveal timing of transcontinental colonizations[J]. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution,44 (1):126-137. DOI:10.1016/j.ympev. 2006. 12. 002.
Dubey S, Salamin N, Ruedi M, Barrière P, Colyn M, Vogel P, 2008. Biogeographic origin and radiation of the Old World crocidurine shrews (Mammalia:Soricidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes[J]. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 48 (3):953-963. DOI:10.1016/j. ympev. 2008. 07. 002.
Darriba D,Taboada G L,Doallo R,Posada D,2012. jModelTest 2:more models,new heuristics and parallel computing[J]. Nature Methods,9 (8):772. DOI:10.1038/nmeth. 2109.
Drummond A J,Suchard M A,Xie D,Rambaut A,2012. Bayesian phylogenetics with BEAUti and the BEAST 1. 7[J]. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 29 (8):1969-1973. DOI:10.1093/molbev/mss075.
Darvish J, Mahmoudi A, Pehpuri A, Saeidzadeh S, 2017. New data on distribution and taxonomy of the genus Suncus (Mammalia:Soricidae) in Iran;molecular evidence[J]. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics,13 (2):229-235. DOI:10.22067/ijab. v13i2. 55808.
Ellerman J R,1947. A key to the Rodentia inhabiting India,Ceylon, and Burma, based on collections in the British Museum[J]. Journal of Mammalogy, 28 (3):249-278. DOI:10.2307/ 1375176.
Ellerman J R,Morrison-Scott T C S,1951. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals,1758 to 1946[M]. London:British Museum (Natural History),810.
Ellerman J R,Morrison-Scott T C S,1966. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals, 1758 to 1946[M]. 2nd ed. Oxford:Alden Press,810.
Francis C M, 2008. A field guide to the mammals of south-east Asia[M]. London:New Holland Publishers Ltd.,392.
Hutterer R,2005. Order Soricomorpha[M]//Wilson D E,Reeder D M eds. Mammal species of the world:a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd ed. Baltimore:The Johns Hopkins University Press,220-311.
He K,Chen X,Chen P,He S W,Cheng F,Jiang X L,Campbell K,2018. A new genus of Asiatic short-tailed shrew (Soricidae, Eulipotyphla) based on molecular and morphological comparisons[J]. Zoological Research, 39 (5):321-334. DOI:10.24272/j. issn. 2095-8137. 2018. 058.
Jiang X L, Hoffmann R S, 2001. A revision of the white-toothed shrews (Crocidura) of southern China[J]. Journal of Mammalogy, 82 (4):1059-1079. DOI:10.1644/1545-1542 (2001) 082<1059:AROTWT>2. 0. CO;2.
Lindsay H M,1929. Indian shrews[J]. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society,33:326-340.
Lu Changkun,Wang Zongyi,Quan Guoqiang,Jin Shanke,Ma Dehui, Yang Dehua, 1965. Study on the mammals in Lincang area, western Yunnan[J]. Zoological Systematics, 4:279-295. (in Chinese with English abstract)
López-Fuster M J, 2007. Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822)[M]//Palomo L J,Gisbert J,Blanco J C eds. Atlas y Libro Rojo de los Mamíferos Terrestres de España. Madrid:Dirección General para la Biodiversidad,SECEM-SECEMU,131-133.
Miller G S, 1912. Catalogue of the mammals of Western Europe(Europe exclusive of Russia) in the collection of the British Museum[M]. London:Printed by order of the Trustees,1044.
Meegaskumbura S,Schneider C J,2008. A taxonomic evaluation of the shrew Suncus montanus (Soricidae:Crocidurinae) of Sri Lanka and India[J]. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences),37 (2):129-136. DOI:10.4038/cjsbs. v37i2. 500.
Meegaskumbura S,Meegaskumbura M,Schneider C J,2010. Systematic relationships and taxonomy of Suncus montanus and S. murinus from Sri Lanka[J]. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 55 (2):473-487. DOI:10.1016/j. ympev. 2010. 01. 031.
Meegaskumbura S, Meegaskumbura M, Schneider C J, 2012a. Phylogenetic position of Suncus fellowesgordoni with pigmy shrews from Madagascar and Southeast Asia inferred from cytochrome-b[J]. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences),41 (1):83-87. DOI:10.4038/cjsbs. v41i1. 4541.
Meegaskumbura S, Meegaskumbura M, Schneider C J, 2012b. Re-evaluation of the taxonomy of the Sri Lankan pigmy shrew Suncus fellowesgordoni (Soricidae:Crocidurinae) and its phylogenetic relationship with S. etruscus[J]. Zootaxa,3187 (1):57-68. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa. 3187. 1. 5.
Ohdachi S D, Kinoshita G, Oda S, Motokawa M, Jogahara T, Arai S,Nguyen S T,Suzuki H,Katakura K,Bawm S,Min M Z,Thwe T L,Gamage C D,Hashim R,Omar H,Maryanto I,Ghadirian T,Ranorosoa M C,Moribe J,Tsuchiya K, 2016. Intraspecific phylogeny of the house shrews, Suncus murinus-S. montanus species complex, based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene[J]. Mammal Study, 41 (4):229-238. DOI:10.3106/041. 041. 0408.
Omar H,Adamson E A S,Bhassu S,Goodman S M,2011. Phylogenetic relationships of Malayan and Malagasy pygmy shrews of the genus Suncus (Soricomorpha:Soricidae) inferred from mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene sequences[J]. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology,59 (2):237-243.
Phillips W W A,1932. Additions to the fauna of Ceylon. No. 3. A new pygmy shrew from the mountains of Ceylon[J]. Spolia Zeylanica,17 (2):123-126.
Quérouil S, Hutterer R, Barrière P, Colyn M, Peterhans J C K, Verheyen E, 2001. Phylogeny and evolution of African shrews(Mammalia:Soricidae) inferred from 16S rRNA sequences[J]. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 20 (2):185-195. DOI:10.1006/mpev. 2001. 0974.
Thomas O,1893. On some new Bornean Mammalia[J]. Annals and Magazine of Natural History,Series 6,11 (65):341-347.
Tamura K,Stecher G,Kumar S,2021. MEGA11:Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 11[J]. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 38 (7):3022-3027. DOI:10.1093/molbev/ msab120.
Savi P,1822. Lettera del Dott. Paolo Savi al Sig. Dott. Carlo Passerini,conservatore dell'I e R. Museo di Fisica,e Storia Naturale di Firenze[J]. Nuovo Giornale de' Letterati, Pisa, 2(3):264-265.
Spitzenberger F, 1990. Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) -etruskerspitzmaus[M]//Niethammer J, Krapp F eds. Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas. Bd. 3/1. Wiesbaden:AULA-Verlag, 375-392.
Zhang D,Gao F,Jakovlić I,Zou H,Zhang J,Li W X,Wang G T, 2020. PhyloSuite:an integrated and scalable desktop platform for streamlined molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetics studies[J]. Molecular Ecology Resources,20 (1):348-355. DOI:10.1111/1755-0998. 13096.
Smith A T,解焱,2009.中国兽类野外手册[M].长沙:湖南教育出版社.
陆长坤,王宗祎,全国强,金善科,马德惠,杨德华,1965.云南西部临沧地区兽类的研究[J].动物分类学报,4:279-295.
潘清华,王应祥,岩崑,2007.中国哺乳动物彩色图鉴[M].北京:中国林业出版社.
蒋志刚,马勇,吴毅,王应祥,周开亚,刘少英,冯祚建,2017.中国哺乳动物多样性及地理分布[M].北京:科学出版社.
魏辅文,2022.中国兽类分类与分布[M].北京:科学出版社.

[1]	Mingkun TANG, Xuming WANG, Yingxun LIU, Rui LIAO, Buqing PENG, Xin WANG, Shaoying LIU. A taxonomic and phylogenetic study of the genus Rhizomys (Rodentia: Spalacidae) in China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(3): 307-319.
[2]	Yishun QIAN, Xin MOU, Bin LUO, Xiaoping LI, Yunli LUO, Song LI. Two new species of Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from southwestern China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(3): 320-336.
[3]	Jiahao QIN, Xiangyang HE, Zeshuang HUANG, Junyu ZHU, Aoran YAN, Tiantian Shen, Huabin ZHAO, Libiao ZHANG. A new record of Hypsugo alaschanicus from Shaanxi and Jiangsu provinces in China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(3): 444-452.
[4]	Taihan HUANG, Xiaoxue FU, Jian LI, Tao WANG, Hao LIU, Lian ZHANG, Xiawei JIANG, Xue LI, Zhengwen LING, Zejun ZHANG, Hongyan SHI. New bat record in Sichuan Province, China: Murina feae [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(3): 453-462.
[5]	Xiaoheng JIANG, Linyin ZHU, Xiaoqi ZHAI, Xuanlong LIN, Alim MAIMAITITI, Rui WANG, Tlieubierde KAMALEJIANG, Sheng Li, Xinbin CAI. First camera-trap record of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Xinjiang, China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(3): 463-464.
[6]	Jinhui WANG, Hongdi GAO, Ailin CHENG, Weijun FANG, Zhe CHEN, Zhenxian ZHU. New record of the genus Chodsigoa (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) in Zhejiang Province [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(2): 299-305.
[7]	Yingxun LIU, Buqing PENG, Xuming WANG, Rui LIAO, Xuan PAN, Shaoying LIU. A new family of mammals recorded in Xizang: Sicistidae [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2026, 46(1): 140-147.
[8]	WANG Xiulei, ZHANG Bo, CHANG Qing, SUN Xiangbo, ZHOU Quan, ZHANG Sujuan, LI Jia. Afro-Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica) found in Zhongwei Shapotou National Nature Reserve, Ningxia [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(4): 553-558.
[9]	LIU Peiying, HE Xiangyang, WANG Longxiang, DENG Jin, HUANG Zeshuang, CHEN Chuangjie, QIU Yuan, ZHANG Libiao. New record of Myotis horsfieldii and M. indochinensis in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 243-250.
[10]	ZHAN Xiaqin, SU Haohui, HE Minyi, CAI Bin, YONG Fan, CUI Peng, WU Yi, YU Wenhua, WANG Xiaoyun. New chiropteran records of Murina shuipuensis in Hunan and Fujian provinces, China, and habitat suitability prediction [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 209-217.
[11]	DU Jianying, GUO Dongge, CHEN Yu, WANG Xufan, FAN Qiaodan, XU Yanyan, LIU Sen. New record of Barbastella beijingensis in Hebei Province and preliminary studies on its acoustic and dietary characteristics [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 218-227.
[12]	DING Jingjing, WANG Zhiqiang, SI Man, ZHAI Feifei, WANG Xuan, ZHAO Yongqiang, SUN Wenjie, HUANG Zhenglanyi, WANG Lei, JIANG Tinglei. New records of Myotis siligorensis and Miniopterus fuliginosus in Jiangsu Province, China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 236-242.
[13]	FAN Qiaodan, DU Jianying, CHEN Yu, WANG Xufan, GUO Dongge, LIU Sen. Hypsugo alaschanicus found in Shanxi and Hebei provinces, China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 251-256.
[14]	SONG Lingxing, FAN Cui, MAO Mingle, OU Zhibu, DENG Huaiqing, XIAO Ning, ZHOU Jiang, LU Xueli. New records of Myotis aurascens in three northwest provincial regions of China [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 257-264.
[15]	SUN Hao, ZHAI Ruiqing, WANG Qiying, LING Huafan, WU Xiaobing, PAN Tao. New records of Kerivoula furva for Anhui Province [J]. ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA, 2025, 45(2): 265-270.