Vietnam Gymnure

The Vietnam gymnure is a medium-sized, robust, shrew-shaped relative of hedgehogs. Its head-and-body length is 12–14.2 cm, the tail 3–4 cm, and average weight 62.7 g. Olive-brown upperparts carry a blurred dark stripe along the front of the back, while the underside is yellowish. The tail is dark above and pale below, and the short, sturdy muzzle helps distinguish it from the closely related Hainan gymnure (Bannikova et al. 2024).

Scientists described the species in 2024 after morphological and genetic comparisons separated northern Vietnamese animals from the Hainan gymnure, previously the genus's only recognised species. The two differ by about eight percent in mitochondrial cytb sequences and also in a nuclear gene. Known records come from mid-elevation forest in northern Vietnam; the type locality lies in Nguyen Binh District, Cao Bang Province, at roughly 300–700 m. No broader range has yet been established (Bannikova et al. 2024).