 |
| Uropsilus huanggangensis Chen, Jiang & Ren, in Ren, Xu, Li, Yao, Fang, Khanal, Cheng, Zeng, Jiang et Chen, 2023. |
Abstract
Asian shrew moles, genus Uropsilus, are the most primitive members of family Talpidae. They are distributed mainly in southwestern China and adjacent Bhutan, Myanmar, and Vietnam. In June 2022, we collected five specimens of Uropsilus from Mount Huanggang, Jiangxi Province, eastern China, which is the highest peak of the Wuyi Mountains. We sequenced two mitochondrial (CYT B and 12S rRNA) and three nuclear (PLCB4, RAG1, and RAG2) genes to estimate the phylogenetic relationship of the five shrew moles. We also compared their morphology with recognized species within the genus. Our results show that these specimens collected from Mount Huanggang differ from all named species in Uropsilus. We formally describe the species here as Uropsilus huanggangensis sp. nov. Morphologically, the new species is distinguishable from the other Uropsilus species by the combination of dark chocolate-brown pelage, long snout, enlarged first upper incisor, similarly sized lacrimal and infraorbital foramens, and the curved and sickle-like coronoid process. The genetic distances of the cytochrome b (CYT B) gene between U. huanggangensis and other recognized Uropsilus species ranged between 9.3% and 16.4%. The new species is geographically distant from other species in the genus and is the easternmost record of the Uropsilus. The divergence time of U. huanggangensis was estimated to be the late Pliocene (1.92 Ma, 95% CI = 0.88–2.99).
Key words: Mount Huanggang, small mammals, taxonomy, Uropsilinae
 |
| Dorsal and ventral views of three Uropsilus species A Uropsilus huanggangensis sp. nov. B U. gracilis C U. dabieshanensis. |
 |
| Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of the skull and lateral views of the mandible of three Uropsilus species A Uropsilus huanggangensis sp. nov. B U. gracilis C U. dabieshanensis. |
Uropsilus huanggangensis Chen, Jiang & Ren, sp. nov.
Suggested common name: Huanggang shrew mole;
Chinese common name: 黄岗鼩鼹.
Diagnosis: The dorsal pelage of U. huanggangensis is dark chocolate-brown. The snout is the longest of any species in the genus. The first incisor I1 is wide and shows an enlargement at the apex of the rostrum, with a visible gap to I2. C1 is larger than P1, and P1 and P3 are similar in size. Tail is slim and relatively short, averaging 86% of head and body length. The tufts at the tail tip are short. The lacrimal foramen and infraorbital foramen are similar in size. The coronoid process is pointed and converges more upward with an incisive tip. The dental formula is I 2/1, C1/1, P 4/4, M 3/3 = 38.
Etymology: The specific name huanggangensis is derived from Mount Huanggang, the type locality of the new species; the Latin adjectival suffix -ensis means “belonging to”.
Distribution and ecology: Uropsilus huanggangensis is currently known only from the type locality on Mount Huanggang, Wuyishan National Park, Jiangxi Province, eastern China, where pecimens were collected at elevations between 1830 and 2060 m a.s.l. Coniferous forests and shrub meadows, with abundant rocks on the ground, dominate the habitat in this area.
Xueyang Ren, Yifan Xu, Yixian Li, Hongfeng Yao, Yi Fang, Laxman Khanal, Lin Cheng, Wei Zeng, Xuelong Jiang and Zhongzheng Chen. 2023. A New Species of Shrew Moles, Genus Uropsilus Milne-Edwards, 1871 (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Talpidae), from the Wuyi Mountains, Jiangxi Province, eastern China. ZooKeys. 1186: 25-46. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1186.111592
