Two New Mammal Species Discovered in Huangshan, Anhui Province
Source: China News Network
By Zhang Bowei of Anhui Suyan, photographed
Xinhua News Agency, Huangshan, March 3rd (Liu Hao, Wu Yijun, Fang Li Hua) Recently, researchers discovered a new species of suyan (qú) belonging to the suyan in the Huangshan scenic area. After research, it was confirmed that there are two new species of mammals.
Huangshan Suyan photographed by Zhang Bowei
The project group, in cooperation between the Huangshan Scenic Area Management Committee's Garden and Ecology Bureau, the Nanjing Environment Science Institute, and Anhui University, recently achieved significant progress in the classification study of suyan species.
Yellow Mountain Suyan photographed by Zhang Bowei
The research team analyzed and confirmed that the suyan species collected in the Floating Creek Monkey Valley of the Huangshan Scenic Area are two new species of mammals, named 'Anhui Suyan' (Crociduraanhuiensis) and 'Huangshan Small Suyan' (Crocidurahuangshanensis).
This research result was published in the English edition of 'ZoologicalSystematics' (2019, Vol. 4 and 2020, Vol. 1) published by the Institute of Animal Classification of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Suyan is a rodent of the Eurasian order of insectivores, the Crocidura genus. This genus is distributed in Asia, Europe and Africa, most species are concentrated in tropical and subtropical regions, inhabiting forests, plains, hills and mountains, mainly feeding on soil insects, and also eating some plants' flowers, fruits and seeds. Suyan resembles a rat, with body types including three types: large, medium and small.
Anhui Suyan: Small eyes; round ears; the back fur is grayish-brown and slightly darker; the tail is close to 76% of the length of the head and body; the tail is almost bare, with a sparse, short, bristly tuft near the end, with a prominent tuft of long, bristly hairs at the tip of the tail; the limbs are partially bare, with pink ankles covered with sparse, short hairs; the skull is long and narrow, with the first pair of incisors well-developed, with a distinct sagittal crest. Samples (6 individuals) weigh 10.52-13.51g, with a head-body length of 60.88-78.10mm, tail length 48.34-59.24mm, forefoot length 9.20-9.87, hindfoot length 13.52-14.83mm, ear length 7.74-9.24mm, skull length 20.81-22.38mm.
Huangshan Small Suyan: Small head; snout; whiskers extend to the ear bottom; small eyes; round ears with ear shells having obvious basal fur; the fur is grayish-brown, the back is slightly darker; the limbs are slender, with both forefeet and hindfeet having five fingers (toes), with small, fleshy protuberances on the feet, with pink finger pads and toe bases, partially bare, with sparse, brown hairs at the ankles; the tail is about 76% of the length of the head and body, almost bare, with only a small amount of long, bristly hairs; the skull is long and flat, without temporal arches, with the first pair of incisors bent and developed, with a distinct sagittal crest. Samples (5 individuals) weigh 4.35-7.77g, with a head-body length of 50.45-61.97mm, tail length 39.64-45.03mm, forefoot length 6.99-8.33mm, hindfoot length 11.84-13.82mm, ear length 7.86-8.70mm, skull length 16.88-17.90mm.
