The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 3,639 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

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Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Guevara L, Vargas-Cuenca J, Hortelano-Moncada Y, Cervantes F A (2024): Small-eared shrews (Mammalia, Cryptotis) in the Neotropical region. v1.1. Biodiversity Data Journal. Dataset/Occurrence. https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=cryptotis&v=1.1

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The publisher and rights holder of this work is Biodiversity Data Journal. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License.

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 004d2940-48cc-4d6f-9b49-59c6b5dac421.  Biodiversity Data Journal publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.

Occurrence; Specimen

Neotropical countries, from Mexico to Peru

No Description available

This database compiles comprehensive occurrence information based on voucher specimens of small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis, that occur from México to Peru. The database integrates the information obtained from four main sources: natural history museums, public databases, fieldwork, and scientific literature. It contains 3,639 records from 53 species in 12 countries. It aims to be a valuable resource for students, researchers, conservationists, and decision-makers.

The personnel involved in the project:

Occurrence data were obtained from four primary sources (see Step description). For scientific collecting, we combined Sherman traps and pitfall traps. The localities were georeferenced in the field using global positioning systems. All scientific collecting was conducted under permits issued by the Mexican Government and prior authorization from the local authorities. We followed standard recommendations on specimen capture, sacrifice, and preparation of small mammals (Sikes et al., 2016).

Method step description:

1. Step one: Data collection. Specimen records were obtained from four main sources: natural history museums, public online databases, literature, and fieldwork. a) Natural History Museums: We reviewed specimens in the following 21 scientific collections from Colombia, Ecuador, México, and the United States: Quito, Ecuador). Fluid bodies, skins, skulls, and/or postcranial skeletons were reviewed to corroborate or determine the taxonomic identity and obtain or verify the collecting data and sex of specimens. b) Public online databases: We consulted data in public databases of the following scientific collections that house specimens of shrews from the Neotropical region: American Museum of Natural History (AMNH); National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM), The University of Kansas, Natural History Museum (KU), British Museum of Natural History (BMNH); Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH-M). We also consulted the Arctos online collection management information system, the database related to the project “Modelado de la distribución potencial de las musarañas (Mammalia, Soricidae)” from the Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, and the DataWebEcuador, a portal to access data of specimens from the collections of Ecuador. We also compare the information with what is available in Global Biodiversity Information Facility through a download on 8 April 2024 (https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.qtdnkn). c) Literature: We carefully reviewed the most recent literature to incorporate taxonomic and nomenclatural changes to the database. Additionally, we include new records that have not yet been digitized or are not still available in any database. d) Fieldwork: We carried out fieldwork aimed at the scientific collecting of shrews in nine states of Mexico: Chiapas, Colima, Estado de México, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz. Step two: Data integration. As mentioned in the Design Description sub-section, the taxonomy and nomenclature of small-eared shrews have changed intensively over the last two decades. Hence, the synonymy used by each researcher to identify the original work or identification was preserved. The taxonomic lists of the Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.7) and Woodman (2019) were used as the base to unify the nomenclature. A combination of .csv and .dbf files was initially used to compile and curate the records. All data were migrated into a database following the Darwin Core Standard containing 36 column labels.