RESUMEN
Among seven species of the order Eulipotyphla (from southern Gansu and northern Sichuan Provinces, Central China) studied cytogenetically, karyotypes of one talpid species, Uropsilus aff. soricipes (2n = 36, NFa = 54), and three soricid species, Chodsigoa hypsibia (2n = 65, NFa = 66), Sorex cansulus (2n = 42, NFa = 64) and Sorex thibetanus (2n = 42, NFa = 60), are described cytogenetically for the first time. All four species are endemic to China with distribution ranges restricted to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and adjacent mountain ranges. The Ch. hypsibia karyotype consists of mostly acrocentric autosomes and one metacentric pair of autosomes; besides, a B chromosome was identified. No polymorphism was detected among karyotypes of other species, including shrews Sorex bedfordiae (2n = 26, NFa = 44), Anourosorex squamipes (2n = 48, NFa = 92) and Crocidura suaveolens (2n = 40, NFa = 44). The Chinese shrew mole U. aff. soricipes and three shrew species (S. bedfordiae, Ch. hypsibia and A. squamipes) represent autochthonous fauna of Central/Western China, whereas S. thibetanus, S. cansulus and C. suaveolens belong to phylogenetic groups occurring mostly to the north and west from China; therefore, they should be considered relatively recent colonisers. Thus, considering the relationships of the species within phylogenetic groups, our results on karyotypes are in good agreement with molecular genetic data.
