The genus Crocidura (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) is the most speciose genus amongst mammals, i.e., it includes the highest number of species. Different species are distinguished by skull morphology, which often prevents the identification of individuals in the field and limits research on these species’ ecology and biology. We combined species distribution models and molecular analyses to assess the distribution of cryptic Crocidura shrews in Italy, confirming the occurrence of the greater white-toothed shrew Crocidura russula in the northwest of the country. The molecular identification ascertained the species’ presence in two distinct Italian regions. Accordingly, species distribution modelling highlighted the occurrence of areas suitable for C. russula in the westernmost part of northern Italy. Our results confirm the role of Italy as a mammal hotspot in the Mediterranean; additionally, they also show the need to include C. russula in Italian faunal checklists. To conclude, we highlight the usefulness of combining different approaches to explore the presence of cryptic species outside their known ranges. Since the similar, smaller C. suaveolens may be displaced by the larger C. russula through competitive exclusion, the latter might be the species actually present where C. suaveolens had been reported previously. A comprehensive and detailed survey is therefore required to assess the current distribution of these species.

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进入或退出清单？DNA条形码和分布建模为意大利展示了一种新的Crocidura rew

Crocidura属（Eulipotyphla，Soricidae）是哺乳动物中最特殊的属，即它包括最多的物种。头骨形态可以区分不同的物种，而头骨的形态通常会妨碍在野外识别个体，并限制了对这些物种的生态和生物学的研究。我们结合了物种分布模型和分子分析，评估了意大利隐密克罗希德鲁rew的分布情况，从而证实了该国西北部更大的白齿Cro克罗希德鲁的出现。分子鉴定确定了该物种在两个不同的意大利地区的存在。因此，物种分布建模突显了适合于意大利北部最西部的罗氏梭菌。我们的结果证实了意大利作为地中海地区哺乳动物热点地区的作用；此外，他们还表明有必要在意大利动物区系清单中包括罗氏梭菌。总而言之，我们强调了结合不同方法来探索其已知范围之外的隐性物种的存在的有用性。由于相似的，较小的沙丁酸梭菌可能通过竞争排斥而被较大的锈皮猴取代，因此后者可能是先前报道过的古巴沙丁酸杆菌实际存在的物种。因此，需要进行全面而详细的调查，以评估这些物种的当前分布。