Think of a mammal that’s at risk of extinction. What comes to mind? A charismatic tiger, perhaps? Or a grand herd of majestic elephants? What about the Mount Lefo brush-furred mouse (Lophuromys eisentrauti), a rodent found only on Mount Lefo in Cameroon? Or the Sclater’s shrew (Sorex sclateri) that lives in Mexico?
Both the mouse and the shrew are critically endangered species. But if you haven’t heard of them, you’re not alone. Many small-bodied mammals, those typically weighing less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds), still remain poorly studied and understood, even by researchers and conservationists. This is despite the fact that two small-mammal groups — Rodentia (animals like rats, mice, beavers, porcupines, chipmunks, marmots, voles and muskrats) and Eulipotyphla (shrews, moles, hedgehogs and solenodons, among others) — together contain nearly half of all known mammal species.
New study shows where to focus efforts to save long-neglected small mammals
Both the mouse and the shrew are critically endangered species. But if you haven’t heard of them, you’re not alone. Many small-bodied mammals, those typically weighing less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds), still remain poorly studied and understood, even by researchers and conservationists. This is despite the fact that two small-mammal groups — Rodentia (animals like rats, mice, beavers, porcupines, chipmunks, marmots, voles and muskrats) and Eulipotyphla (shrews, moles, hedgehogs and solenodons, among others) — together contain nearly half of all known mammal species.
New study shows where to focus efforts to save long-neglected small mammals