Discovered a new species of 'tree shrew' in Sapa

A group of British, Russian and Vietnamese scientists have just announced the discovery of new tree shrews at Hoang Lien National Park in the northern flank of Mount Fansipan - about 6km west of Sa Pa town, Lao Cai province.

The typical habitat of tree shrews has just been discovered - (Photo: Zookeys)

Crocidura sapaensism tree shrews - (Photo: Zookeys)

The discovery, published in ZooKeys magazine, indicates that after genetic analysis, they identified it as a new tree shrew, with the scientific name Crocidura sapaensism , in which sapaensism takes its name from Vietnam.

Zoologist Paulina Jenkins - the lead author of the study, works at the London Museum of Natural History - says the new tree mouse has dark black back hairs, round skulls, and short snouts. Crocidura attenuata, Crocidura tanakae and Crocidura wuchihensis are cousins ​​of 3 other shrews also found in Vietnam.

According to the report on mongabay.com on July 8, with more than 180 species found, the genus of Crocidura shrews is thought to have the largest number of species compared to any mammalian genus in the world. Tree shrews eat seeds, fruits and invertebrates. This is the world's smallest mammal genus in the world.