Cinereus Shrew

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Cinereus Shrew[1]

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Soricomorpha
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Sorex
Species: S. cinereus
Binomial name
Sorex cinereus
Kerr, 1792

The Cinereus Shrew (Sorex cinereus), also known as the Masked Shrew, is a small shrew found in Alaska, Canada, the northern United States, and northeastern Siberia. This is the most widely distributed shrew in North America where it is also known as the Common Shrew.

Contents

[edit] Description

It is grey-brown in colour with a light grey underside. It has a long tail which is brown on top and pale underneath with a dark tip. Its body is about 9 cm in length including a 4 cm long tail. It weighs about 5 g.

[edit] Distribution

This animal is found in humid areas and damp northern forests. Its range extends further south along the Rocky Mountains in the west and the Appalachians in the east. This species was introduced into Newfoundland in the late 1950s.

[edit] Prey and predation

It eats insects, worms, snails, small mammals, salamanders and seeds. It has a voracious appetite, even for a shrew, and can eat its own body weight in a day. Predators include larger shrews, hawks, owls, shrikes, snakes, herons, and foxes.

[edit] Behaviour

This animal is active day and night year-round. It digs tunnels but also uses tunnels created by other small mammals. It mates between spring and fall. 3 to 6 young are born in a nest under a log or in a stump. In the north, females have only one litter per year. This animal usually lives less than 18 months.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hutterer, Rainer (2005-11-16). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 286. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ^ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Sorex cinereus. 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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