The Nimba otter shrew (Micropotamogale lamottei ) is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Potamogalidae. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. This species belongs to the genus Micropotamogale, literally meaning "tiny river weasel". It is native to the Mount Nimba area which rests along the border of Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
Semiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
Polygamy is the practice of breeding with multiple partners. When a male breeds with more than one female at the same time – it is called polygyny....
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Nimba otter shrew is a small bodied mammal. Weighing only about 125 grams (4.5 ounces) it has a body length of 6-9 inches(15–22 cm.) with 1/4 to 1/3 of its body size being its tail. It has been described as a "miniature sea otter with a rat tail". Its pelage is long, hiding its ears and eyes, and almost always universally colored (usually brown, but black and gray otter shrews have been spotted).
The Nimba otter shrew is nocturnal and semiaquatic. It resides in soft soils around creek beds and streams.It is a solitary creature and has only been seen with other shrews during mating seasons and when a mother is nursing newly born young.The breeding pattern of the Nimba otter shrew is also unknown, but believed to be polygamous; as there have been no witnessed accounts of breeding in the wild and the Nimba otter shrew has not mated in captivity.
The IUCN had listed the Nimba otter shrew as endangered in 1990, but in 2018 the status was changed to vulnerable. The species is confined to an area less than 5,000 km² on Mount Nimba, which is currently fragmented due to mining and wetland rice agriculture. The mining operations also produce runoff into the creeks and streambeds that is highly toxic. The current population is decreasing at a rate of 1 per 10 km² (almost 500 otter shrews per year). Although an exact number is unknown at this time, there is believed to be less than 2500–3500 individuals in the wild; there are none in captivity. At this rate the Nimba otter shrew was predicted to be extinct between 2017 and 2020. The population within Liberia's East Nimba Nature Reserve was reported healthy in 2013. The species is also present in the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve of Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, but this reserve is adjacent to a mining operation and is not fully protected from poaching.