Sorex nanus

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Ecology: It is found in various habitats including rocky areas in alpine tundra and partly into subalpine coniferous forest , other types of rocky slopes (e.g. , with ponderosa pine, George 1990), sedge marsh , subalpine meadow, dry brushy slopes, arid shortgrass prairie, dry stubble fields , and pinyon-juniper woodland. In some areas the dwarf shrew is sympatric with S. monticolus.

At high elevation , breeding probably begins in late June-early July; and the first litters are produced in late July-early August; and the second litters are born in late August-early September; embryo counts averaged 6.5 for second litters; females breed in their second year. At lower elevations, breeding may begin earlier and litter size and frequency may be greater (Clark and Stromberg 1987). It is an active hunter, and feeds primarily on insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates (worms, molluscs , centipedes, etc. ). It may also consume vegetable matter as well as some small vertebrates (salamanders, etc.). It is active throughout the year.[1].

List of Habitats:

•     1     Forest   
  
•     1.4     Forest - Temperate   
  
•     4     Grassland   
  
•     4.1     Grassland - Tundra   
  
•     4.4     Grassland - Temperate   
  
•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.4     Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands   
  
•     6     Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs , mountain peaks)   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Subgenus : Otisorex

Last scrutiny: 28-Nov-2006

Sorex nanus apparently diverged only recently from S. tenellus and may not yet be a separate species (George 1988). However, George (1988), Jones et al. (1992), and Hutterer (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) listed nanus and tenellus as separate species.[1].

Similar Species

Members of the genus Sorex

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 120 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

S. alaskanus (Glacier Bay Water Shrew) · S. alpinus (Alpine Shrew) · S. antinorii (VALAIS SHREW) · S. araneus (European Shrew) · S. araneus araneus (European Shrew) · S. arcticus (Black-Backed Shrew) · S. arcticus arcticus (Black-Backed Shrew) · S. arizonae (Arizona Shrew) · S. arunchi (UDINE SHREW) · S. asper (Tien Shan Shrew) · S. averini (Dneper Common Shrew) · S. bairdi (Baird's Shrew) · S. bairdii (Baird's Shrew) · S. bedfordiae (Lesser Stripe-Backed Shrew) · S. bendirii (Bendire's Water Shrew) · S. bendirii bendirii (Bendire's Water Shrew) · S. buchariensis (Buchara Shrew) · S. caecutiens (Laxmann's Shrew) · S. camtschatica (Kamchatcka Shrew) · S. cansulus (Gansu Shrew) · S. cinereus (Long-Tailed Shrews) · S. cinereus nigriculus (Tuckahoe Masked Shrew) · S. cinereus streatori (Cinereus Shrew) · S. coronatus (Or Jersey Shrew) · S. cylindricauda (Greater Stripe-Backed Shrew) · S. daphaenodon (Siberian Large-Toothed Shrew) · S. daphaenodon daphaenodon (Siberian Large-Toothed Shrew) · S. dispar (Long-Tailed Or Rock Shrew) · S. dispar blitchi (Long-Tailed Or Rock Shrew) · S. dispar dispar (Long-Tailed Shrew) · S. emarginatus (Jackson's Shrew) · S. excelsus (Highland Shrew) · S. fumeus (Long-Tailed Shrews) · S. fumeus fumeus (Smokey Shrew) · S. gaspensis (Gaspé Shrew) · S. gracillimus (Slender Shrew) · S. granarius (Lagranja Shrew) · S. haydeni (Hayden's Shrew) · S. hosonoi (Azumi Shrew) · S. hoyi (American Pygmy Shrew) · S. hoyi hoyi (American Pygmy Shrew) · S. hoyi montanus (Pygmy Shrew) · S. hoyi thompsoni (Northeastern Pygmy Shrew) · S. hoyi winnemana (Southern Pygmy Shrew) · S. hydrodromus (Pribilof Island Shrew) · S. isodon (Equal-Toothed Shrew) · S. ixtlanensis (Ixtlan Shrew) · S. jacksoni (Saint Lawrence Island Shrew) · S. kozlovi (Kozlov's Shrew) · S. leucogaster (Paramushir Island Shrew) · S. longirostris (Dismal Swamp Southeastern Shrew) · S. longirostris eionis (Homossassa Shrew) · S. longirostris fisheri (Dismal Swamp Southeastern Shrew) · S. longirostris longirostris (Southeastern Shrew) · S. lyelli (Mount Lyell Shrew) · S. macrodon (Mexican Large-Toothed Shrew) · S. maritimensis (Maritime Shrew) · S. mediopua (Jalisco Shrew) · S. merriami (Merriam's Shrew) · S. merriami leucogenys (Merriam's Shrew) · S. milleri (Carmen Mountains Shrew) · S. minutissimus (Least Siberian Shrew) · S. minutus (Eurasian Pygmy Shrew) · S. mirabilis (Ussuri Shrew) · S. monticolus (Montane Shrew) · S. monticolus malitiosus (Warren Island Dusky Shrew) · S. monticolus monticolus (Montane Shrew) · S. monticolus neomexicanus (Montane Shrew) · S. nanus (Rocky Mountain Dwarf Shrew) · S. neomexicanus (Long-Tailed Shrews) · S. oreopolus (Mexican Long-Tailed Shrew) · S. orizabae (Orizaba Long-Tailed Shrew) · S. ornatus (Suisun Shrew) · S. ornatus ornatus (Ornate Shrew) · S. ornatus relictus (Buena Vista Lake Ornate Shrew) · S. ornatus salarius (Monterey Ornate Shrew) · S. ornatus salicornicus (Salt Marsh Ornate Shrew) · S. ornatus sinuosus (Suisun Shrew) · S. ornatus willetti (Santa Catalina Shrew) · S. pacificus (Pacific Shrew) · S. pacificus pacificus (Pacific Shrew) · S. palustris (Northern Water Shrew) · S. palustris albibarbis (American Water Shrew) · S. palustris brooksi (Vancouver Island Water Shrew) · S. palustris palustris (Northern Water Shrew) · S. palustris punctulatus (American Water Shrew) · S. planiceps (Kashmir Pygmy Shrew) · S. portenkoi (Portenko's Shrew) · S. preblei (Preble's Shrew) · S. pribilofensis (Pribilof Island Shrew) · S. raddei (Radde's Shrew) · S. roboratus (Flat-Skulled Shrew) · S. rohweri (Olympic Shrew) · S. sadonis (Sado Shrew) · S. samniticus (Appenine Shrew) · S. satunini (Caucasian Shrew) · S. saussurei (Saussure's Shrew) · S. saussurei saussurei (Saussure's Shrew) · S. sclateri (Sclater's Shrew) · S. shinto (Sado Shrew)

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Further Reading

• A Taxonomic review of American long-tailed shrews (genera Sorex and Microsorex) By Hartley H. T. Jackson. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1928. url p. 172, p. 173, p. 174, p. 221, p. 227.
• A morphometric analysis of geographic variation within Sorex monticolus (Insectivora:Soricidae) / Lois F. Alexander. 1996 Lawrence, Kan.: Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, c1996. url p. 21.
• Assessment of the Red Rock River subbasin and wetlands of the Centennial Valley / Helena, Mont.: Montana Natural Heritage Program, c2009. url .
• Extinct and vanishing mammals of the western hemisphere, with the marine species of all the oceans, by Grover M. Allen. .. [Cambridge? Mass.]American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, 1942. url p. 15.
• Middle Missouri River wildlife study: Federal aid to fish & wildlife restoration project FW-3-R, jobs 1-B & 1-C / prepared by Kerry Constan & Dan Hook (Ecological Services Division). [Helena]: Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, [1981] url p. 43.
• Miscellaneous publication - University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History. 1974 Lawrence: University of Kansas, 1946-1996. url p. 148, p. 150, p. 161, p. 162, p. 4, p. 4.
• Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas. Lawrence, Kan.: The Museum. url , p. 316, p. 322, p. 327, p. 354, p. 359, p. 369, p. 400, p. 413, p. 42, p. 47, p. 48.
• North American fauna. Washington: Fish and Wildlife Service; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. url , p. 163, p. 165, p. 170, p. 172, p. 173, p. 174, p. 221, p. 227.
• Occasional papers of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas. 1981 Lawrence, Kan.: The University, 1971-1994. url fig. 11, page 15, p. 16, fig. 13-14, page 17, p. 22, p. 25, fig. 25, page 27, p. 28, p. 34, p. 35, fig. 31, page 41, p. 48.
• Occasional papers of the Natural History Museum, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 1995 Lawrence, Kan.: The University, 1994-1996. url fig. 17, page 18, fig. 19, page 20, fig. 26, page 27, p. 28, p. 29, p. 31, p. 32, p. 33, p. 34.
• Plant and animal resources and ecological condition of the Hanging Woman Basin in Big Horn County, Montana and Sheridan County, Wyoming / Helena, Mont.: Montana Natural Heritage Program, c2003. url .
• Potential wildlife-highway interactions at select mile-markers along Montana Department of Transportation routes an ArcView GIS analysis / Bozeman, Mont.: Fish and Wildlife Management Program, Montana State University, 2001 url , , .
• Readings in mammalogy / selected from the original literature and introduced with comments by J. Knox Jones, Jr., and Sydney Anderson. [Lawrence, Kans.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1970. url p. 335.
• The Canadian field-naturalist. Ottawa, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club. url p. 1, p. 446, p. 514.
• The Great Basin naturalist. 50 1990 Provo, Utah: M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, 1939-1999. url , , p. 105, berna, page 161, p. 164, p. 165, p. 392, p. 393, p. 458, p. 462, p. 84, p. 94.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. 9 1955 Lawrence, University of Kansas. url fig. 10, page 27, p. 28, figs. 11-14, page 30, p. 510, p. 517, p. 523, figs. 5-6, page 524, p. 754.
• Variability of mammals = Izmenchivost' mlekopitayushchikh / A. V. Yablokov; rev. by the author for this ed.; scientific editor of translation, L. Van Valen. New Delhi: available from the U. S. Dept of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, 1974. url p. 288.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 30, 2012.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• Hammerson, G. 2008. Sorex nanus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Insectivore Specialist Group 1996. Sorex nanus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org . Downloaded on 21 October 2006.
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• Burke Museum: Mammal Specimens
• Field Museum: Mammal specimens
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Sternberg Museum of Natural History: Mammal Collection
• University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
• University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center: Mammal Collection
• Utah Museum of Natural History: Mammal specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 107087
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179951
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179951
• IUCN ID: 242954
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AMABA01130
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13323

Footnotes

1. Hammerson, G. 2008. Sorex nanus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.