Smoky Shrew
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| Sorex fumeus Miller, 1895 |
The Smoky Shrew, Sorex fumeus, is a medium-sized North American shrew found in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
It is dull grey in colour with lighter underparts and a long tail which is brown on top and yellowish underneath. During winter, its fur is grey. Its body is about 11 cm in length including a 4 cm long tail and it weighs about 5 g.
This animal is found near streams in cool damp deciduous and mixed woods. Its range extends further south along the Appalachian Mountains. It makes extensive burrows in the leaf litter on the forest floor. It also uses tunnels created by moles or other shrews.
Its diet includes insects, earthworms, snails and small mammals. Predators include owls, snakes and mustelids.
This animal is active year-round. The female has 2 to 3 litters of 5 to 7 young in a nest in a stump or under a log.
[edit] Subspecies
This species has two recognized subspecies:[1]
- Sorex fumeus fumeus
- Sorex fumeus umbrosus
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 288. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Sorex fumeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
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