Shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) from MT. Tay Con Linh, Ha Giang Province, Northeast Vietnam

14/04/2022

We collected soricid shrews of the order Eulipotyphla from March 15 to 27, 2017 on Mt. Tay Con Linh, Ha Giang Province, northeast Vietnam, to investigate species composition and changes over the past 16 years.

A total of 35 individuals of the family Soricidae, comprising five genera and the following seven species, were obtained: Anourosorex squamipes, Blarinella qua- draticauda, Chimarrogale himalayica, Chodsigoa caovansunga, Chodsigoa hoffmanni, Crocidura dracula, and Crocidura wuchihensis. These are the first records of Anourosorex squamipes and Chimarrogale himalayica in Ha Giang Province. There was no evidence of the presence in this study, of the soricid shrew Crocidura attenuata or the talpid mole Scaptonyx fusicauda, two eulip- otyphlan species that were previously recorded. Logging and an expanded plantation of the Chi- nese cardamom (Lanxangia tsaoko) were observed along the trails. Four individuals from three species were collected in the plantation area, while thirty-one individuals from six species were collected in habitats similar to those reported previously. The Chinese cardamom plantation and logging might have affected the habitat and distribution of the terrestrial shrew species.