Holotype: NMP 96961 (field number ETH2068), male, preserved in alcohol, skull extracted, collected by A. Konečný, D. Mizerovská and J. Šklíba on 8 December 2018 (Fig. 1).

Type locality: Ethiopia, Kafa zone, Medabo village (7.56294 N, 36.04964 E), 1,563 m a.s.l., dried periodic wetland and shrubby edge (Fig. 2).

Paratypes: NMP 97132 (ETH2067, male); NMP 97133 (ETH2112, female); same locality and altitude.

Diagnosis: A large, overall blackish Crocidura (n = 3) with a long and narrow skull, similar to C. turba, but with a longer tail (T 57.5-67.5 mm vs. 50-65 mm in C. turba, n = 19) with lower pilosity (48% vs. 76% in C. turba, n = 2) and longer hindfeet (HF 15.2-17.9 mm vs. 13.7-17.1 mm in C. turba, n = 18). Skulls of females smaller than of males. Rostrum long and narrow. Genetically (at cytb) it represents a lineage close to C. turba of Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and DR Congo (Fig. 2C). Both species belong to the so-called Crocidura poensis complex (sensu Nicolas et al. 2019), distributed primarily in the Guineo-Congolian forests.

Description: Relatively large-sized (head and body length 86-102 mm, weight 13-21 g) with a moderately long tail, ranging between 66 and 69% of head and body length, basal 48% of tail covered by long bristle hairs. Dorsal pelage blackish-brown (Fig. 1A), hairs grey at base, blackish-brown on most of its length at tip. Length of dorsal hair 6 mm. Ventral hairs blackish, hairs dark grey at base, blackish-brown at tip. Dorsal surface of forefeet pale grey, hindfeet moderately long (15.2-17.9 mm). Tail blackish-brown above and brownish-grey below, not appearing as bicoloured.

Skull long (CI 26.3 mm in the male holotype; 23.6 mm in the female ETH2112; see also Table 1) with a long and narrow rostrum (similar to C. turba), and relatively narrow maxillary, interorbital and braincase (Fig. 1B). Dorsal profile of skull almost straight. Nasals long and straight. Anterior opening of infraorbital canal small but visible in dorsal view. First upper incisor (I1) relatively small in size, talon reduced. Its lateral cingulum weak and extending down as a thin ridge to the base. First upper antemolar (A1) twice as large as the following two antemolars, in occlusal view, the tooth is about twice as long as wide. The second and third upper antemolars (A2, A3) are about ⅓ of the height of A1 (lateral view) and about half the size in occlusal view, their buccal cingula are very thin. The third upper antemolar (A3) almost in contact with the parastyle of P4. The parastyle of the fourth upper premolar (P4) is weak and barely visible in side view. M1 and M2 are much wider than long and M3 is relatively short and narrow. Mandible weak, with a long and narrow angular process and a small coronoid process. The first lower incisor (i1) has no denticulation of the cutting ridge and an indistinct postero-buccal cingulum. The second incisor (i2) is long and narrow (occlusal view), about half of the tooth in contact with i1, and about ⅓ of its posterior border overlapping with p4. The second incisor has a broad cingulum. The lower p4 is small, but has the typical V – shape of its cutting blade. The molars m1 to m3 are of normal shape, all have a prominent cingulum. The posterior part of the third molar has a deep basin.

ParatypeETH2067isanothermale,butwithabroken skull. In the remaining measurements (Table 1), it is as large as the holotype. It seems probable that this new species shows a case of sexual dimorphism in skull size, which is uncommon in shrews, although a few cases are known from Africa for Crocidura fulvastra Sundevall, 1843 (Hutterer 1984).

Comparisons: This is a large and dark shrew, comparable in general size to the Ethiopian taxon Crocidura zaphiri Dollman, 1915, which however is similar (if not identical) to Crocidura olivieri (Hutterer 1981). However, the skull of C. zaphiri and members of the C. olivieri group (sensu Jacquet et al. 2015) have a wide rostrum and maxillary while C. similiturba sp. nov. has a very narrow and slender rostrum. In this respect the new species is more similar to Crocidura stenocephala Heim de Balsac, 1979, a species endemic to the Kahuzi Mountains of Central Africa (Dieterlen & Heim de Balsac 1979) or to C. turba Dollman, 1915 from south-eastern Africa (Nicolas et al. 2019). The latter species, however, has relatively shorter tail and hindfeet (T 56 mm and HF 14.7 mm in average over 22 C. turba individuals vs. T 62.3 mm and 16.4 mm over three C. similiturba sp. nov.; Table 1, Table S1).

The PCA based on 13 linear measurements of C. similiturbasp.nov.andC.turba(skullmeasurements in Table 1) revealed non-overlapping separation along PC 2, that accounts for additional 7.50% (PC 1 for 88.13%) of the total variance (Fig. 3A). PC 2 is positively correlated with cranial widths (MB, r = 0.630 and basicranial PGL, r = 0.391), and with height of mandibular coronoid process (COR, r = 0.325). On the other hand, no differences were found along PC 1 which is positively correlated with lengths: CI, r = 0.663; ML, r = 0.421; PL, r = 0.311; UTR, r = 0.301; LTR, r = 0.283).

In general, C. similiturba sp. nov. can be distinguished from other large to medium-sized species of Ethiopian Crocidura by the following features: large body (mean HB 93 mm), dark, almost blackish colour, reduced (48%) pilosity of tail, long and narrow rostrum, long and slender skull (CI 26.3 mm in the male; 23.6 mm in the female).

Genetics: C. similiturba sp. nov. is placed genetically on a distinct branch sister to C. turba from south-eastern Africa (Fig. 2C). They form a monophyletic lineage within the C. poensis species complex, which further includes West-Central African C. poensis and Crocidura fingui (Fig. 2C, see also Nicolas et al. 2019). Being part of the so-called Afrotropical clade, subclade III (Dubey et al. 2008), this species complex is distributed mostly in western and central Africa with only two East-African representatives, C. turba (until now genetically confirmed from two localities by Nicolas et al. 2019; for new localities see Fig. 2A) and the Ethiopian endemic C. similiturba sp. nov.

Distribution: Only known from the type locality (Fig. 2), but may be more widespread in the understudied forest zone of south-western Ethiopia.

Habitat: All animals were captured near Medabo village in the Kafa zone, south-western Ethiopia. The habitat was an ecotone of dried wetland and forest with dense shrub and herb vegetation (Fig. 2B).

Etymology: The new species is similar (Latin: similis) to C. turba.

Comment: Osgood (1936) reported on two specimens in FMNH from “Njabara, Gojjam” in his paper on Ethiopian mammals, which he referred to Crocidura turba nilotica Heller, 1910. It is possible that he dealt with the new species described here, but Gojjam is in the northwest of Ethiopia, and not in the moist Kafa zone, which makes it less likely. The FMNH specimens still have to be re-studied.

Holotype: NMP 96962 (field number ETH1654), male, collected by J. Bryja, M. Uhrová, D. Mizerovská and Y. Meheretu on 10 November 2018 (specimen in alcohol, skull extracted).

Type locality: Ethiopia, Amhara, Borena Saynt National Park, camp of the guards (10.8499 N, 38.7937 E). Bank of a small stream, Erica and grassland mosaic, 3,198 m a.s.l.

Paratypes: NMP 97134 (ETH1657, female; Fig. 4A), NMP 97135 (ETH1681, female), NMP 97136 (ETH1687, male), NMP 97137 (ETH1691, female), same locality as the holotype, but the latter three specimens from the altitude 3,514 m a.s.l. (Afroalpine grasslands with giant lobelia; Fig. 5).

Other specimens: Including the holotype and paratypes, 38 specimens were collected from Borena Saynt NP (3,121-3,514 m a.s.l.; November 2014 and November 2018) and 32 specimens from Abohoy Gara Community Conservation Area (CCA; 3,533-3,783 m a.s.l.; November 2014 and September 2019; Table S1). It was the most abundant shrew species at these localities.

Diagnosis: A small-sized, pale greyish-brown Crocidura with a whitish belly, similar in external measurements (HB 73.5, T 36-42 mm) to Crocidura baileyi Osgood, 1936 but smaller in cranial size (CI 21.0-21.6 mm).

Description: Small-sized Crocidura (HB 68-83 mm, weight 8.5-15 g) with a short tail (31-50 mm), 57% of head and body length. Dorsal hairs long (9 mm), dorsal pelage light greyish-brown, single hairs dark grey at base, light brown at tip. Ventral pelage whitish, hairs dark grey at base, pale–yellowish white at tip (Fig. 4A). Dorsal surface of fore- and hindfeet whitish. The tail is dark grey-brown above and paler below. Bristle hairs are long, dark-grey at base, pale-grey at tip and present along almost the full length (80%) of the tail. External ears visible, but embedded in long pelage. Dorsal surface of fore- and hindfeet whitish, hindfoot short (14.2-14.8 mm; Table 2, Table S1).

Skull short (CI 21.0-21.6 mm) with a short and narrow rostrum, maxillary wide, almost as wide as braincase, interorbital wide (Fig. 4B). Dorsal profile of skull elevated at braincase. Nasals short. Anterior opening of infraorbital canal barely visible in dorsal view. First upper incisor (I1) relatively long for the skull size, talon small. Its lateral cingulum weak and extending down as a thin ridge to the base. First upper antemolar (A1) twice as large as the following two antemolars, in occlusal view, the tooth is about twice as long as wide. The second and third upper antemolars, (A2, A3) are about ⅓ of the height of A1 (lateral view) and about half the size in occlusal view, their buccal cingula are very thin. The third upper antemolar (A3) overlaps slightly with the parastyle of P4. The parastyle of the fourth upper premolar (P4) is small but prominent in side view. M1 and M2 are much wider than long, and M3 is relatively robust. Mandible short and with a high coronoid process, and a medium-sized angular process. The first lower incisor (i1) has no denticulation of the cutting ridge and a narrow postero-buccal cingulum. The second incisor (i2) is small but long and narrow (occlusal view), about two thirds of the tooth are in contact with i1, and about ⅓ of its posterior border is overlapping with p4. The second incisor has a narrow cingulum. The lower p4 is small, but has the typical V – shape of its cutting blade. The molars m1 to m3 are of normal shape; all have narrow cingula. The posterior part of the third molar has a deep basin.

Variation: Specimens from the type series are uniformly coloured. All qualitative characters are relatively homogeneous, and no sexual dimorphism was observed. Specimens from Abohoy Gara (CCA) have shorter tails (35-36 mm).

Comparisons: This is a small shrew, comparable in external size (HB 68-83 mm, T 31-50 mm) to C. baileyi Osgood, 1936 (HB 72-93 mm, T 43-48 mm; Osgood 1936; Table 2), but smaller in average cranial size than the latter (C. makeda sp. nov., CI 21.0-21.6 mm; C. baileyi, CI 21.9-22.7 mm; Osgood 1936; Table 2). Larger than the following Ethiopian Afromontane-Afroalpine species: Crocidura bottegoides Hutterer & Yalden, 1990; Crocidura bottegi Thomas, 1898; Crocidura cf. hildegardeae Thomas, 1904; Crocidura harenna Hutterer & Yalden, 1990; Crocidura phaeura Osgood, 1936; but smaller than Crocidura afeworkbekelei Lavrenchenko et al., 2016; Crocidura lucina Dippenaar, 1980; Crocidura macmillani Dollman, 1915; Crocidura glassi Heim de Balsac, 1966 and Crocidura yaldeni Lavrenchenko et al., 2016. The values of CI for the first group of species range between 14.3 and 20.6 mm and for the second group between 21.8 and 27.2 mm (Dippenaar 1980, Hutterer 1981, Hutterer & Yalden 1990). The values for C. makeda sp. nov. lie between the two groups.

The PCA based on 13 linear measurements of C. makeda sp. nov. and similar C. lucina and C. baileyi (skull measurements in Table 2) revealed a clear non-overlapping separation of the new species from the others along the most explanatory PC 1, that accounts for 81.40% (PC 2 for 5.01%) of the total variance (Fig. 3B). This first component is positively correlated with skull lengths: condylo-incisive length (CI, r = 0.595) and mandible length (ML, r = 0.380). Therefore, C. makeda sp. nov. can be distinguished from its sister and similar C. lucina and C. baileyi by its significantly shorter skull (CI mean ± SE: 21.21 ± 0.10 mm vs. 22.59 ± 0.18 and 22.37 ± 0.23 mm; ML: 13.20 ± 0.12 mm vs. 14.03 ± 0.14 and 13.91 ± 0.14 mm, respectively). For comparison of the cranium and mandible morphology between C. makeda sp. nov. and its sister species on the mtDNA tree, C. lucina, see Fig. 6.

Genetics: In a cytb-based phylogenetic tree (Fig. 7), the new species forms a monophyletic clade, sister to C. lucina known uniquely from Ethiopia on both sides of the Great Rift Valley (Bale + Arsi Mountains on the east and Ankober + Guwasa on the west; Fig. 5). Both species are part of the so-called Old World clade (Dubey et al. 2008), specifically its Afrotropical lineage that includes most of other Crocidura species endemic to the Ethiopian Highlands (Fig. 7, see also Lavrenchenko et al. 2009). Furthermore, this lineage includes an East African C. bottegi (known from Ethiopia as well) and a widely distributed East African lineage, composed of Crocidura monax, Crocidura fumosa, Crocidura munissii, Crocidura mdumai, Crocidura newmarki, Crocidura usambarae, Crocidura tansaniana, Crocidura montis and the only Ethiopian species C. macmillani (Fig. 7). Shrews of this clade differ from the other sub-Saharan species (i.e. from the Afrotropical clade sensu Dubey et al. 2008) not only by mitochondrial genetics, but also by chromosomal numbers: Old World clade representatives having 2n = 28-36 vs. about 50 chromosomes in species of the Afrotropical clade (Lavrenchenko et al. 2016).

Distribution: Currently known only from Borena Saynt NP (3,121-3,514 m a.s.l.) and from Abohoy Gara CCA (3,533-3,783 m a.s.l., part of Mount Abuna Yosef; Fig. 5). In both mountain ranges it represents the most abundant shrew species, regularly captured in various Afromontane habitats.

Habitat: Mosaic of Afromontane grasslands with volcanic rocks, small shrubs (Erica, Hypericum) and Lobelia sp. (Fig. 5). These habitats, although declared as conservation areas, are threatened by overpopulation (Tsegaw 2016).

Etymology: Species named for Makeda, the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba. The specific name is a noun in apposition.

Four specimens from two localities: three from Guwasa C.C.A. (10.29385 N, 39.80034 E) at an elevation of 3,320 m a.s.l. in a mosaic of Afroalpine habitats and Erica shrubs and one (ETH1094) from Sodota (Bale Mountains, 6.9904 N, 39.7015 E) at 3,507 m a.s.l. (Fig. 5). The species seems to be a typical Afroalpine specialist, with exactly the same distribution as an Afroalpine rodent Stenocephalemys albocaudatus (Mizerovská et al. 2020). In body measurements (Table S1) and cranial size (ETH1857 – male: CI 14.91, UTR 6.44, MB 4.48, IO 3.19, GW 7.02, PGL 4.83, HCC 4.17, LTR 5.66, COR 3.53; ETH1859 – female: CI 14.94, UTR 6.39, MB 4.56, IO 3.27, GW 6.76, PGL 5.05, HCC 3.9, LTR 5.98, COR 3.44), the specimens are similar to C. bottegi. However, older specimens of these tiny shrews in the Natural History Museum London (NHM 1972.381 from near Baco, 1937.2.24.26 from Dangila, 40 mi S Lake Tana and 1898.2.5.6 from Lake Margharita) measured by Hutterer & Yalden (1990) have significantly shorter tails (29-30 mm) than the present specimens (40-42 mm). There are no sequences available for NHM specimens, and therefore the problem of their conspecificity with the new Ethiopian specimens cannot be solved at present.

Since the species description by Hutterer & Yalden (1990), only an additional eight specimens (three of which are cytogenetically characterized) have been collected in the Harenna forest in 1995 (Lavrenchenko et al. 1997). Here we present two specimens collected in the Harenna forest (Bale Mountains) on 7 November 2012 (ETH0197) and at Chara, 5 km west of Bonga, at 2,407 m, on 27 November 2012 (ETH0734). Both have a hairy tail covered with long bristles over 80% of its length. The new records show that the species is not confined to the Harenna forest but also occurs on the western side of the Rift Valley (Fig. 5).

Dembi Dam, Kite, Fanika Village (6.9796 N, 35.4958 E), 1,254 m (ETH1405, ETH1450, ETH1452, ETH1453). On the cytb tree they cluster together with C. macmillani sequences from Lavrenchenko et al. (2009; Fig. 7), suggesting that the distribution of the species is limited to the forest zone of south-western Ethiopia (Fig. 5). It forms the only Ethiopian species in the C. monax species complex (see also Sabuni et al. 2018). Tails are very hairy (71% mean pilosity, 66-75%, n = 4).

This large species was recently described on the basis of four specimens collected in the Beletta forest at 1,900 m a.s.l. (Lavrenchenko et al. 2016). Here we record new specimens with mtDNA of C. yaldeni from several localities of two different regions, elevations and habitat types. Six specimens morphologically very similar to the type series were collected in forests in south-western Ethiopia (near the type locality) at altitudes 2,010-2,407 m a.s.l. (localities Saja, Bonga, Chingawa, Geche and Mareka). An additional 25 specimens with almost identical mtDNA come from Afromontane habitats (Erica forest and grasslands with Lobelia) in central-northern Ethiopia at 3,121-3,514 m a.s.l. (7 specimens from Ankober, 7 from Guwasa and 11 from Borena Saynt NP; Fig. 5). They are smaller and resemble Crocidura thalia morphologically. However, a substantial level of intraspecific mitochondrial genetic variation has been recovered that does not correspond to these two geographical and morphological groups. Three main lineages separate i) an individual from Saja village (Kafa zone) from south-western forests (ETH2086, lineage “yaldeni II”); ii) individuals from an Afroalpine habitat in the Borena Saynt NP (lineage “yaldeni III”); and iii) all other localities from both south-western forests and Afroalpine localities in Ankober and Guwasa (lineage “yaldeni I”; Figs. 5, 7). This pattern might be explained by historical mitochondrial introgression of mtDNA of C. yaldeni from lower-elevation forests to the Afroalpine regions and the existence of a distinct hybridogenic taxon in mountains of central Ethiopia (Borena Saynt, Ankober, Guwasa), as has been recently documented for multiple rodent genera (Arvicanthis – Bryja et al. 2019b, Stenocephalemys – Bryja et al. 2018, Mizerovská et al. 2020). Understanding the evolutionary history of this complex will require further analyses based on genome-level data, as well as a comparison with a genetically and morphologically similar species, especially C. thalia (Dippenaar 1980, Hutterer 1981, Lavrenchenko et al. 2016).

A single new specimen was obtained from southwestern Ethiopia (ETH2097, Medabo village in the Kafa zone, December 2018) and from northwestern Zambia (RS0786, Nchila Wildlife Reserve, April 2009; Table S1). A comparison of their sequences (Fig. 8) with those available in GenBank demonstrates that there are at least two taxa included in the clade that has been formerly called “Sylvisorex megalura Jentink, 1888” (Hutterer 1981, Yalden et al. 1996), confirming the previous results of Dubey et al. (2008). Suncus megalura occurs in West Africa, while S. sorella is known from the Congo Basin, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia (Fig. 8). There are still not enough genetic data from Africa to draw the exact boundaries of their ranges, but it seems very likely that the forests in south-western Ethiopia have been colonized from the East African montane forest.