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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Volcano Forest Shrew

Sylvisorex vulcanorum Hutterer & Verheyen, 1985

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The volcano shrew (Sylvisorex vulcanorum) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae found in the high-altitude rainforest of Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and swamps. Its type locality is at Karisoke in Rwanda.

Wikipedia contributors, Volcano shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:45:34.948859+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Sylvisorex vulcanorum Hutterer & Verheyen, 1985
Name authority
Hutterer & Verheyen, 1985
Common name
Volcano Forest Shrew
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Eulipotyphla
Family
Soricidae
Genus
Sylvisorex
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
  12. familySoricidae G. Fischer, 1814
  13. subfamilyCrocidurinae A. Milne-Edwards, 1872
  14. genusSylvisorex Thomas, 1904
  15. speciesSylvisorex vulcanorum Hutterer & Verheyen, 1985

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Sylvisorex. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Grant's Forest ShrewSylvisorex granti Thomas, 1907SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Howell's Forest ShrewSylvisorex howelli Jenkins, 1984SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bioko Forest ShrewSylvisorex isabellae Heim de Balsac, 1968SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Johnston's Forest ShrewSylvisorex johnstoni (Dobson, 1888)SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Kongana Forest ShrewSylvisorex konganensis Ray & Hutterer, 1996SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Forest MuskshrewSylvisorex ollula Thomas, 1913SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Lesser Forest ShrewSylvisorex oriundus Hollister, 1916SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bamenda Forest ShrewSylvisorex silvanorum Hutterer, Riegert & Sedlacek, 2009SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Cameroonian Forest ShrewSylvisorex camerunensis Heim de Balsac, 1968SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Crescent ShrewSylvisorex lunaris Thomas, 1906SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Rain Forest ShrewSylvisorex pluvialis Hutterer & Schlitter, 1996SoricidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 289 records assigned to Soricidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=633750 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:53NBY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.