| Southern short-tailed shrew [1] | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Family: | Soricidae |
| Genus: | Blarina |
| Species: | B. carolinensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Blarina carolinensis (Bachman, 1837) | |
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| Southern short-tailed shrew range | |
| Synonyms | |
Blarina brevicauda carolinensis | |
The southern short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis) is a gray, short-tailed shrew that inhabits the eastern United States. [3]
The southern short-tailed shrew is the smallest shrew in its genus, measuring 7 to 10 cm (2.8 to 3.9 in) in total length, and weighing less than 14 g (0.49 oz). It has a comparatively heavy body, with short limbs and a thick neck, a long, pointed snout and ears that are nearly concealed by its soft, dense fur. As its name indicates, the hairy tail is relatively short, measuring 1.2 to 2.5 cm (0.47 to 0.98 in). The feet are adapted for digging, with five toes ending in sharp, curved claws. The fur is slate gray, being paler on the underparts. [4]
The southern short-tailed shrew is found in the southeastern United States, from southern Virginia to eastern Texas, to central Oklahoma, and in the Mississippi valley as far as southern Illinois. Within this region, it is found primarily in pine forests. [4] However, these range from dry to wet and even swampy habitats, as well as disturbed forests and abandoned agricultural land. [5]
There are two recognized subspecies: [4]
Fossils of the species are known from the Pleistocene, during which time they may have spread as far north as South Dakota. [4]
The southern short-tailed shrew's diet consists of insects, annelids, hypogeous fungi, slugs and snails, centipedes, and spiders. Known predators include snakes, hawks, owls, and foxes. [4] It has been known to store snails for the winter.[ citation needed ] The saliva is venomous and is injected into the wounds of its prey by the teeth. Its venom is strong enough to kill mice, but is not lethal to humans, though it causes severe pain. [6]
The short-tailed shrew has a high metabolism and eats about half its body weight in a day. It navigates and locates prey by echolocation. [7]
The southern short-tailed shrew is a social animal; it has been known to share its burrow systems with several individuals. The male and female live together during the prebreeding season. The burrows are built in two layers, one near the surface, and a deeper one joined below it. The burrows are often built below logs, which can be penetrated and honeycombed if the log is rotten. [8]
The breeding season lasts from March to November, and females have two or three litters per year. [4] The gestation period lasts from 21 to 30 days,[ citation needed ] and each litter consists of two to six young. [4] The young are reared in nests of grasses and leaves at the end of a tunnel reaching about 30 cm (12 in) below the ground, or in rotten logs. [4] These nests for the young are much larger than the adults' resting nests.[ citation needed ]
Shrews are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders.
The Etruscan shrew, also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew, white-toothed pygmy shrew and Savi’s pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about 1.8 g (0.063 oz) on average.
The northern short-tailed shrew is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning "short tail".
The North American least shrew is one of the smallest mammals, growing to be only up to 3 inches long. It has a long pointed snout and a tail never more than twice the length of its hind foot. The dense fur coat is either grayish-brown or reddish-brown with a white belly. Its fur becomes lighter in the summer and darker in the winter. Although similar in appearance to several species of rodents, all shrews are members of the order Eulipotyphla and should not be mistaken for a member of the order Rodentia. The North American least shrew's eyes are small and its ears are completely concealed within its short fur, giving it very poor eyesight and hearing.
The marsh shrew, also known as the Pacific water shrew, Bendire's water shrew, Bendire's shrew and Jesus shrew is the largest North American member of the genus Sorex. Primarily covered in dark-brown fur, it is found near aquatic habitats along the Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to northern California. With air trapped in its fur for buoyancy, marsh shrews can run for three to five seconds on top of the water. It measures about 16 cm (6.3 in) in length, including a 7-centimetre (2.8 in)-long tail, and weighs an average of 14.5–16 g (0.51–0.56 oz). The marsh shrew's diet consists mainly of invertebrates, which it hunts on land and in the water. They are rare; their populations are thought to be in decline, and they are considered endangered in parts of their range.
The smoky shrew is a medium-sized North American shrew found in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States and extends further south along the Appalachian Mountains.
The giant otter shrew is a semiaquatic, carnivorous afrotherian mammal. It is found in the main rainforest block of central Africa from Nigeria to Zambia, with a few isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda. It lives in streams, wetlands and slow flowing larger rivers. It is the only species in the genus Potamogale. Otter shrews are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar.
The vagrant shrew, also known as the wandering shrew, is a medium-sized North American shrew. At one time, the montane shrew and the Orizaba long-tailed shrew were considered to belong to the same species.
The genus Blarina, commonly called short-tailed shrews, is a genus of relatively large shrews with relatively short tails found in North America.
Crawford's gray shrew, also known as the desert shrew, is a small shrew found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a member of the family Soricidae of the order Eulipotyphla. It was the only known member of the genus Notiosorex until two species, N. villai distributed in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and N. evotis distributed along the northwest coast of Mexico, were named. A fourth distinct species, N. cockrumi, was discovered in Arizona and named in 2004.
The American shrew mole is the smallest species of mole. It is the only living member of the genus Neurotrichus and the tribe Neurotrichini. It is also known as Gibb's shrew mole and least shrew mole. It is not closely related to the Asian shrew mole. The reason that it is called a "shrew mole" instead of being called either a "shrew" or a "mole" is because of its fur, which is a characteristic of shrews and its large head and heavy dentition, which is characteristic of moles.
The Eurasian pygmy shrew, often known simply as the pygmy shrew, is a widespread shrew of the northern Palearctic.
The Eurasian water shrew, known in the United Kingdom as the water shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It has short, dark fur, often with a few white tufts, a white belly, and a few stiff hairs around the feet and tail. It lives close to fresh water, hunting aquatic prey in the water and nearby. Its fur traps bubbles of air in the water which greatly aids its buoyancy, but requires it to anchor itself to remain underwater for more than the briefest of dives.
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is a small, slate grey, short-tailed species of shrew. Its common name comes from Daniel Giraud Elliot, who first described the species in 1899.
Venomous mammals are animals of the class Mammalia that produce venom, which they use to kill or disable prey, to defend themselves from predators or conspecifics or in agonistic encounters. Mammalian venoms form a heterogeneous group with different compositions and modes of action, from four orders of mammals: Eulipotyphla, Monotremata, Primates, and Chiroptera. To explain the rarity of venom delivery in Mammalia, Mark Dufton of the University of Strathclyde has suggested that modern mammalian predators do not need venom because they are able to kill quickly with their teeth or claws, whereas venom, no matter how sophisticated, requires time to disable prey.
The greater white-toothed shrew is a small insectivorous mammal found in Europe and North Africa. It is the most common of the white-toothed shrews. This species is found along the Mediterranean, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Portugal; in addition, the Osorio shrew of the Canary island of Gran Canaria, originally described as a separate species, was later discovered to be a population of introduced greater white-toothed shrew. Furthermore, a subspecies of the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula ibicensis, is found on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. In April 2008, the greater white-toothed shrew was discovered in Ireland as well. Its preferred habitats are grassland and woodland. It is slightly larger than the lesser white-toothed shrew but otherwise very similar and can often be distinguished only by close inspection of its teeth which are unpigmented.
The Hispaniolan solenodon, also known as the agouta, is a small, furry, shrew-like mammal endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Like other solenodons, it is a venomous, insect-eating animal that lives in burrows and is active at night. It is an elusive animal and was only first described in 1833; its numbers are stable in protected forests but it remains the focus of conservation efforts.
The Ussuri mole or large mole, is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae, formerly treated as a subspecies of the Japanese mole. It is found in China, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia and lives in a long burrow, seldom emerging on the surface of the ground during the day.
The southeastern shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in the southeastern United States.
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