New shrew-opossum species discovery in Ecuador

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From Wildlife Extra:

New species of shrew-opossum found in Ecuador

A few specimens already in Museum collections

October 2013. Until recently there were four known species of northern shrew-opossums, Caenolestes (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae), which are restricted to the northern Andes of South America. However five specimens of a new species of Caenolestes have been collected in Ecuador’s Sangay National Park on the eastern slopes of the Andes.

A review of museum specimens revealed six more specimens of this species lying unrecognised in collections; the new species has been named Caenolestes sangay.

All five of the new specimens were collected in cloud forest habitats from between 2,050 to 3,500 m above sea level along a recently constructed highway. The new species appears to be uncommon.

There has been very little research into the new species, so little is known about its distribution, but it occurs in a region of high endemism. New roads and land conversion threaten mature habitats near the locality where it was found.

The discovery was published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

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