Geographic Variation in Myosorex longicaudatus (Soricidae) in the Southern Cape Province, South Africa

Myosorex longicaudatus is endemic to the southern Cape Province, South Africa, where it occurs in the Langeberg Mountains and widely in the Knysna Forest. Its long tail and set of paired or triple median palatal fissures are the most conspicuous features distinguishing it from both Myosorex varias and Myosorex cafer, but it differs from these species also in cranial configuration. A geographically isolated population in the Boosmansbos Forest (Langeberg Mountains) differs in size, external proportions, and cranial configuration from populations in the Knysna Forest and is described as a new subspecies whose IUCN conservation status should be considered “vulnerable.”.