Suncus murinus (Linnaeus 1766)

[Sorex] murinus Linnaeus 1766, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., Vol. 1: 74.

Type Locality: Indonesia, Java.

Vernacular Names: Asian House Shrew.

Synonyms: Suncus albicauda (Peters 1866); Suncus albinus (Blyth 1860); Suncus andersoni (Trouessart 1879); Suncus auriculata (Fitzinger 1868); Suncus beddomei (Anderson 1881); Suncus blanfordii (Anderson 1877); Suncus blythii (Anderson 1877); Suncus caerulaeus (Kerr 1792); Suncus caerulescens (Shaw 1800); Suncus caeruleus (Kerr 1792); Suncus celebensis (Revilliod 1911); Suncus ceylanica (Peters 1870); Suncus crassicaudus (Lichtenstein 1834); Suncus duvernoyi (Fitzinger 1868); Suncus edwardsiana (Trouessart 1880); Suncus fulvocinerea (Anderson 1877); Suncus fuscipes (Peters 1870); Suncus geoffroyi (J. B. Fischer 1830); Suncus giganteus (Geoffroy 1831); Suncus grayii Motley and Dillwyn 1855; Suncus griffithi (Horsfield 1851); Suncus heterodon (Blyth 1855); Suncus indicus (Geoffroy 1811); Suncus kandianus (Kelaart 1852); Suncus kelaarti (Blyth 1855); Suncus kroonii (Kohlbrugge 1896); Suncus kuekenthali (Matschie 1901); Suncus leucura (Matschie 1894); Suncus luzoniensis (Peters 1870); Suncus malabaricus (Lindsay 1929); Suncus mauritiana (Reichenbach 1834); Suncus media (Peters 1870); Suncus microtis (Peters 1970); Suncus muelleri (Jentink 1888); Suncus muschata (Hatori 1915); Suncus myosurus (Pallas 1785); Suncus nemorivagus (Hodgson 1845); Suncus occultidens (Hollister 1913); Suncus palawanensis (Taylor 1934); Suncus pealana (Anderson 1877); Suncus pilorides (Shaw 1796); Suncus riukiuana (Kuroda 1924); Suncus rubicunda (Anderson 1877); Suncus sacer (Ehrenberg 1832); Suncus saturatior (Hodgson 1855); Suncus semmelicki Tate 1944; Suncus semmeliki Koller 1930; Suncus semmelinki (Jentink 1888); Suncus seramensis Kitchener 1994; Suncus serpentarius (I. Geoffroy in Bélanger 1831); Suncus sindensis (Anderson 1877); Suncus soccatus (Hodgson 1845); Suncus sonneratii (I. Geoffroy 1827); Suncus sumatranus (Peters 1870); Suncus swinhoei (Blyth 1859); Suncus tytleri (Blyth 1859); Suncus unicolor (Jentink 1888); Suncus viridescens (Blyth 1859); Suncus waldemarii (Peters 1870) .

Distribution: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Taiwan, Japan, continental and peninsular Indomalayan Region; introduced into Guam, the Maldive Isls, Philippines, and probably many other islands; introduced in historical times into coastal Africa (Egypt to Tanzania), Madagascar, the Comores, Mauritius, and Réunion, and into coastal Arabia (Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: A highly variable species with a number of genetically distinct populations that almost behave like semispecies (Hasler et al., 1977; Rogatcheva et al., 2000; Yamagata et al., 1987; Yoshida, 1985). Chromosomes show Robertsonian polymorphism and vary geographically from 2n = 30 to 2n = 40 (Yosida, 1985). Forms with lower numbers are found in S India, Sri Lanka and peninsular Malaya. A number of laboratory strains have been established (Oda et al., 1985). Much of the present distribution is the result of human agency (Hutterer and Tranier, 1990). A clear allocation of all listed taxa to subspecies is not possible at this moment. Kitchener et al. (1994 b) discussed subspecies in the Sunda Isls and recognized murinus, muelleri and seramensis as distinct. However, they did not consider names such as edwardsiana from S Philippines that may have priority. African synonyms include albicauda, auriculata, crassicaudus, duvernoyi, leucura, mauritiana, sacer, and geoffroyi; see Heim de Balsac and Meester (1977).