THE LESSER (KNOWN) DWARF SHREW
C .D . Lynch
T h e L e s s e r d w a r f s h r e w 's ( k le i n e r dwergskeerbek, S uncus v a rilla ) colloquial name
is derived from its size, for in dim ension it is sm aller than the Greater d w a rf shrew, Suncus
lixus and larger than the Least d w a rf shrew, Suncus infinitesim us, although the prefix Lesser
m ight ju st as well refer to the fact that it is one of the lesser k n o w n m a m m a ls . O n ly the abovementioned three d w a rf shrews occur in South Africa, although other genera such as the forest shrews and musk shrews are also found. The Lesser d w a rf shrew has an average body
length of 50 mm and a mass of 3,5g. The colour of the upper parts is greyish-chestnut and the under parts pale silvery-faw n. Apart from the fact that the Lesser d w a rf shrew is know n to occur singly or in pairs and constructs a round ball-shaped nest of grass approxim ately 100 mm in diameter in old disused term ite mounds, very little else is know n about its habits, habitat, food it eats, when it breeds and its d istribu tional range. The Department of M am m alogy at the National M useum has consequently undertaken a research project w ith the objective of providing
inform ation on these and possibly many more aspects of the Lesser d w a rf shrew 's natural history.
A fu lly -g ro w n Lesser d w a rf sh re w d w a rfe d by a h u m a n hand.
Shrew s w h ic h can easily be d istinguished from rats and mice as they have long, narrow , pointed muzzles, very sm all eyes, five d ig its on each of the feet and n a rro w skulls w ith co n tin u o u s row s of teeth, are classified as Insectivora. Evolutionary-speaking, Insectivora are a group of m am m als regarded as having p rim itive characters and recognised as the m ost prim itive of all placental (as opposed to pouch- bearing) m am m als, and th e ir ancestors probably gave rise to all other m am m alian groups. The earliest know n s h re w like Insectivora w h ic h were discovered in the fossil beds of Lesotho in 1966, indicate th a t they already existed some 190 m illio n years ago (modern man has only been in existence some 20 0 0 0 years).
Of all the Insectivora, w h ic h include other species such as the hedgehogs, macroscelids and golden moles, shrew s are the most num erous species in A frica. Shrew s have musk glands w h ic h are situated on th e ir flanks and are used to help the sexes fin d one another during the breeding season. Because shrew s have a high m etabolic rate they feed voraciously, eating one to tw o th ird s (some say even as m uch as three times) theip body mass of food per day. They w ill therefore soon die if deprived of food and w ater, even for sh o rt periods. Some A m erican shrew s have poisonous saliva of to xicity s im ila r to th a t of the venom of cobras, and can in flic t, although not lethal to man, poisonous bites. It is alleged th a t in proportion to its size the Hero sh re w from central A frica has the strongest backbone of all m am m als and can support a mass of 73 kg. The sm allest m am m al in the w o rld is the pygmy shrew w ith a mass of as little as 2,1 g (= the mass of 4 paper clips). S hrew s have a sh o rt life span and only live for about 16 m onths. I j i ..j!
The ro u n d b all-shaped nest o f the Lesser d w a rf shrew.
A Lesser d w a rf s h re w m o th e r caravaning w ith h er young. Each young bites onto the body o f the one in fro n t o f it.
B IB L IO G R A P H Y
LYNCH, C D . 1 9 8 3 . The m a m m a ls o f th e O ra n g e Free S ta te . M e m . nas. M u s .. B lo e m fo n te in 1 8 1 -2 1 8
S M rTH ER S. R.H.N. 1 98 3. The m a m m a ls o f the s o u th e rn A fr ic a n S u b re g io n . P re to ria U n i\« r s ity o f P re to ria.
NUWE MIERSPESIE ONTDEK
Die biologie van die Grondspeg, Geoco/aptes
olivaceus word tans in die Golden Gate Hoogland
Nasionale Park deur die Departement O rnitologie van die Nasionale M useum bestudeer. Hierdie is een van die weinige voelspesies w a t u its lu itlik miere vreet. In 'n poging om vaste stel hoeveelen w atter soorte miere beskikbaar is vir die voels om te vreet isdaarsoveel m oontlik miere versam elen na dr. Andre Prins van die Suid-Afrikaanse M useum in Kaapstad vir identifikasie gestuur. Volgens dr. Prins, 'n kenner op die gebied van miere, was daar tussen die materiaal 'n nuwe spesie van die genus Camponotus.
Ontledings van die mis van die Grondspeg is nog nie gedoen nie en daar is tot op datum nog geen aanduiding of die voel van die nuwe mierspesie vreet nie. Interessant egter is dat 'n tweede nuwe mierspesie onlangs gevind is in die mis van G rondspegte in die suidw e s Kaap naby Simonstad. Dit w il dus voorkom asof die huidige Grondspegstudies baie meer in ligting verskaf as w at enige persoon kon voorsien en beslis 'n groot bydrae maak tot die taksonomie van miere in
Suid-Afrika. QEjj
R.A. Earle
Die Grondspeg. 'n voel w a t u its lu itlik van m iere leef. A Lesser d w a rf s h re w e a tin g a s m a ll grasshopper.
