Mammals of the WorldShrew Gymnure
Neotetracus sinensis
- Order
- Eulipotyphla
- Family
- Erinaceidae
- Genus
- Neotetracus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- China|Myanmar|Vietnam
- Realm
- Palearctic|Indomalaya
Other names: Chinese Moonrat
About this species
- Diet
- Mostly invertebrates
- Range
- China, Myanmar and Vietnam
The shrew gymnure, or shrew hedgehog, is the only extant species in the genus Neotetracus and belongs to the family Erinaceidae. It is found in China, Myanmar and Vietnam. Its coat is soft, dense and quite long; the back is olive-brown, cinnamon-brown or a mixed cream and black, and the underside is usually red, grey or cream, with the sides of the neck and head sometimes tinged red (Wikipedia, general species account).
A faint black dorsal stripe may be present, and the tail is lightly covered with tiny hairs. Compared with other members of its family it has a longer tail, a shorter snout and fewer teeth. Its diet consists mostly of invertebrates.
Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)