Rediscovery of an ‘extinct’ endemic mammal Sonnerat’s Shrew (Diplomesodon sonnerati Cheke, 2012) in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India.

Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 15 مهر 1404

نوع مقاله: Short Communications

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijab.2025.90911.1089

نویسندگان

Moinudheen Nizamudheen¹؛ Samson Arockianathan^{* 2}؛ Mohammed Sirajudeen Shahir³؛ Phillmon Smart Edward⁴

¹Independent Researcher in Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, India

²Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Bombay Natural History Society, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

³Department of Zoology & Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam 643002, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India

⁴Centre for Landscape Ecology, Research & Development Division, Fedstan GMC Register Private Limited, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

چکیده

The family Soricidae comprises 385 species in 26 genera, including the monotypic genus Diplomesodon, previously thought to contain only the Central Asian Piebald Shrew D. pulchellum. The enigmatic Sonnerat’s Shrew D. sonnerati, described over 200 years ago from Pondicherry, India, was long considered possibly extinct due to the absence of confirmed specimens. On 1 October 2022, we photographed a dead shrew in Udhagamandalam (Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu) exhibiting distinctive grey pelage with a transverse white band and a stout tail, consistent with historical descriptions of D. sonnerati. The specimen measured 143 mm (head–body) and 26 mm (tail). Despite extensive live-trapping (15 traps, October–December, winter season), no additional individuals were detected. The Nilgiri record lies ~350 km from the type locality, indicating a notable biogeographic disjunction that may represent either a relict population or part of a wider, under-documented range. Targeted surveys in intervening habitats, coupled with genetic analyses, are urgently needed to assess distribution, population connectivity, and taxonomic validity, and to inform conservation strategies for this potentially rare and evolutionarily distinct shrew.









**As per the journal guidelines, the manuscript does not require an abstract to be included. However, since it is necessary to complete this step for submission, I have added an abstract here solely to fulfill the submission requirements. Please note that the abstract has not been included in the manuscript itself, in adherence to the stated guidelines.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Biogeographic disjunction؛ Diplomesodon sonnerati؛ India؛ Nilgiris؛ Rediscovery؛ Small mammal survey