In this study four species of shrews of the genus Cryptotis are reported for Ecuador, and a species described here as Cryptotis niausa sp. nov., new for the science, distributed to the highlands of northern Ecuador and distinct from Cryptotis montivagus, which inhabits the grassland and shrublands of southern Ecuador. The new species is characterized by its large size for the genus, long and brown-gray haired, with a yellowish hue contrasting, mainly in the throat. The analysis of this study demonstrate that Cryptotis equatoris osgoodi is distinct from Cryptotis equatoris equatoris, therefore consider these clades as distinct species. Cryptotis equatoris is medium size specie, medium blackish size specie, which is distributed in temperate and cold forested areas of the western foothills of the Andes; and Cryptotis osgoodi, is distributed mainly in the cloud forests of the eastern slopes of the Andes.
Cryptotis; Andes; Morphology; Distribution
