Sorex (Sorex) asper Thomas 1914

Sorex (Sorex) asper Thomas 1914, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 13: 565.

Type Locality: "Thian-shan [Tien-shan], Tekes Valley". Note on type specimen tag says "Jigalong" (= Dzhergalan?, see Hoffmann, 1987:119); Narynko'skii r-n., Alma-Ata Obl., Kazakhstan.

Vernacular Names: Tien Shan Shrew.

Distribution: Tien Shan Mountains (Kazakhstan and Sinkiang, China).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Sorex . S. tundrensis group. Karyotype has 2n = 32/33, FN = 58. Type locality discussed by Hoffmann (1987) and Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987). Does not include excelsus as suggested by Corbet (1978 c); see under that species. Reviewed by Hoffmann (1987), who discussed the relationship between asper and tundrensis . Genetically, they are not closely related (Fumagalli et al., 1999).