Kinabalu shrew

Despite its resemblance in external morphology with the mountain shrew C. lepidura (Sumatra), multilocus phylogenies reveal a recent divergence of C. baluensis from the Sabahan lineage of the Bornean shrew, C. foetida sensu lato. The latter inhabits the lower slopes in Kinabalu, up to around 1500 masl, where it is replaced by C. baluensis. The larger size and longer hair of C. baluensis respect to the lowland C. foetida sensu lato seems related to adaptation to the colder mountain conditions. Future sampling at mid-elevations in Kinabalu will be required to address whether this closely-related lowland lineage represents a distinct species or if Crocidura baluensis should be redefined to include these lowland Sabahan populations