Muicrogale pusilla Major 1896

28. Least Shrew Tenrec Muicrogale pusilla French: Petit Microgale / German: Gnomkleintenrek / Spanish: Tenrec musarana minima Other common names: Lesser Shrew Tenrec Taxonomy. Microgale pusilla Major, 1896, “Forest of the Independent Tanala of Ikongo, in the neighbourhood of Vi- nanitelo,” Madagascar. Restricted by R. D. E. MacPhee in 1987 to “50 km SE of Fianarantsoa town and 10 km SSE of Vo- hitrafeno town, western margin of eastern forest; Fianarantsoa, Fianarantsoa [Province, Madagascar]; 21°45’S, 47°17L. Further clarified by M. D. Carleton and D. F. Schmidt in 1990 and P. D. Jenkins and Carleton in 2005 to “21°43’S, 47°16’E.” Recent comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that M. pusilla is sister to a clade of M. jenkinsae, M. longicaudata, M. majori, and M. principula. Monotypic. Distribution. Central Highlands, E & SE Madagascar. Descriptive notes. Head—body 51-63 mm,tail 62-85 mm, ear 8-13 mm, hindfoot 11-13 mm; weight 3-5 g. The Least Shrew Tenrec is very small, and tail is long, 130-160% of head-body length. Dorsal pelage is soft and grizzled reddish brown, and venteris gray, with a buffy wash. Habitat. Humid forests (tolerant of some disturbance) and wet grasslands to marshy habitats at elevations of 530-1670 m (but recently documented at higher elevations). Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. No information. Activity patterns. No information. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Least Shrew Tenrec is widely distributed and occurs in several protected areas. It uses some disturbed habitats, including urban rice fields. Its overall population appears to be stable, but major threats could be habitat degradation and use offire for forest clearing. Bibliography. Carleton & Schmidt (1990), Everson et al. (2016), Goodman etal. (2013), Jenkins (2003), Jenkins & Carleton (2005), MacPhee (1987), Olson & Goodman (2003), Stephenson et al. (2016m).Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Tenrecidae, pp. 134-172 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 171-172, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.680823