Taxon name
Suncus etruscus
(Savi, 1822)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Suncus etruscus
(Savi, 1822)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(Savi, 1822)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species is assessed as Data Deficient for the UAE because this is a poorly known species, with only very few, widely scattered records. No regional adjustment is made to the Data Deficient assessment.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
First recorded in UAE in August 2000 during live-trapping at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife, Sharjah (Aspinall et al. 2005) and has been recorded there again since then. There is an observation from Abu Dhabi of a Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis feeding on this species (Drew and Tourenq 2005) and it has been recorded at Al Wathba Wetland Reserve (Soorae et al. 2014). Photographs of two recent sightings at Green Mubazzarah, at the base of Jebel Hafeet, have been published on the <a href=""http://www.uaebirding.com/photos-mammals.html"">UAE Birding website</a>. The species may also have been caught in Al Ain. The species is difficult to live-trap due to its very low weight and it is likely to occur more widely in the UAE. The species is widespread from southern Europe and North Africa through the Near East and Arabian Peninsula to Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia, including the island of Borneo (Aulagnier et al. 2017).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Incomplete
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The areas where specimens have been obtained consist of sandy and gravel desert with scattered trees and bushes, and irrigated farmland. Little is known about this species in the Arabian region (Harrison and Bates 1991).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
There is no information available on threats to this species.
History
This species was not listed by Hornby (1996) for the UAE Red List of mammals, but based on current knowledge the backcasted 1996 assessment for this species has to be Data Deficient.
Publication
Mallon, D., Hilton-Taylor, C., Allen, D., & Harding, K. (2019). UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial. A report to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates (p. 41). IUCN Global Species Programme. https://bit.ly/2RdZCQR
