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Blarina brevicauda

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Northern Short-tailed Shrew
(Blarina brevicauda)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:Eulipotyphla
Suborder:Erinaceota
Family:Soricidae
Subfamily:Soricinae
Tribe:Blarinini
Genus:Blarina
Binomial details
Blarina brevicauda (Say, 1822)

Description

Blarina brevicauda is the largest member in the genus Blarina. It has a compact and cylindrical body. The fur is dense, velvety, and usually dark gray, dark brown, or black in color. It has a pointed snout, tiny eyes, and small external ears, which are mostly hidden within the fur. Summer pelage is slightly paler than winter pelage and nearly indistinguishable from juvenal pelage. This is the only species of venomous mammal in North America.

From Best & Hunt (2020): "This is a relatively large shrew with a short tail, tiny eyes, and external ears that are inconspicuous and concealed by pelage. The snout is pointed and proboscis-like. The tail is hairy and slightly bicolored in adults. Pelage is dark slate gray on the back, is soft, and may be paler on the underside. Length of head and body is usually more than 81 mm."

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range Reference Total length Tail length Hindfoot length Ear length Mass
Alabama Best & Dusi (2014) 109 (101–125) (n=22) 24 (20–28) (n=22) 14 (13–15) (n=22) 16.3 (11.7–19.7) (n=13)
Canada Naughton (2012) 90–145 17–35 13.5–18 16.0–28.6
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland Webster et al. (1985) 95–136 19–30 13–17
Great Lakes Region Kurta (2017) 108–140 18–32 13–18 15–30
Great Plains Region (northern) Wilson & Ruff (editors, 1999) 118–139 23–32 18–30
Indiana Whitaker Jr. & Hamilton Jr. (1998) 100–126 (males; n=60) 19–28 (males; n=60) 9–16 (males; n=60) 11–26.3 (males; n=60)
Indiana Whitaker Jr. & Hamilton Jr. (1998) 95–125 (females; n=69) 17–26 (females; n=69) 9–20 (females; n=69) 11.4–24.8 (females; n=67)
Indiana Wilson & Ruff (editors, 1999) 95–126 17–28 11–26
Maryland NEON Biorepository (2023) 98–118 21–26 14–16 10.5–17.8
Massachusetts NEON Biorepository (2023) 96–124 21–33 14–15 12.5–20.7
Michigan NEON Biorepository (2023) 98–118 21–29 14–16.5 12.8–18.6
Minnesota Hazard (1982) 124–134 22–27 16–17 6–8 22.9–35.5
New Hampshire NEON Biorepository (2023) 95–122 21–31 12–15 10.8–19.4
New York (central) Whitaker Jr. & Hamilton Jr. (1998) 124 (n=60) 24.8 (n=60) 15 (n=60) 19.3 (n=60)
North Dakota Seabloom et al. (2020) 129 25 16 7
Tennessee NEON Biorepository (2023) 98–112 21–27 13–15 11.3–17.4
Virginia Linzey (1998) 105–138 18–30 14–28
Virginia NEON Biorepository (2023) 93–115 21–29 13–17 10.2–20.5
Wisconsin NEON Biorepository (2023) 98–122 17–31 13.5–19 12.7–24.1


Color variation

This section shows some of the color variation present in Blarina brevicauda. The location is provided for reference only. The individual shown does not necessarily represent the only color variant within the local population.

Skull

As in all soricids, the rostrum is elongated and the skull lacks zygomata (or zygomatic arches). The first incisor is enlarged. The tympanic bone is a simple ring and the skull lacks auditory bullae. As in all members of the subfamily Soricinae, the teeth are red-tipped with iron deposits. Blarina have five unicuspids; the first 2 unicuspids are similar in size and larger than 3rd and 4th unicsupids, which are also similar in size. The 5th unicuspid is minute and may not be visible when viewed from the side. Sorex also have five unicuspids, but the skulls of Sorex are more delicate, whereas the skulls of Blarina appear somewhat blocky and angular. The mandibles of Blarina are also much more robust than the mandibles of Sorex. Notiosorex have three unicsupids per side and Cryptotis have four.

  • Dorsal view of the skull of Blarina brevicauda.
  • Lateral view of the skull of Blarina brevicauda. Long scale bar is 1 cm; short scale bar is 1 mm.

Similar species

Throughout most of its range, Blarina brevicauda is much larger than Blarina carolinensis and Blarina hylophaga. In southern Iowa, northern Missouri, and northeastern Kansas, B. brevicauda adults may be small and similar in size to B. hylophaga adults, making the two species difficult to differentiate.

From AG Hope (personal communication with the NEON Biorepository, January 23, 2023): "B. brevicauda is known to occur in Kansas but only in the extreme NE [northeast] of the state near Atchison. Saying that, the range of brevicauda may be broader than is recorded. If there are large shrews from [Kansas] that don't fit the measurements of hylophaga then they could be checked using genetics."

  • Ranges of Blarina brevicauda and co-occurring B. carolinensis and B. hylophaga.

References

Best TL, Dusi JL. 2014. Mammals of Alabama (Vol. 4). Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

Best TL, Hunt JL. 2020. Mammals of the southeastern United States. Tuscaloosa (AL, USA): University Alabama Press.

George SB, Choate JR, Genoways HH. 1986. Blarina brevicauda. Mammalian Species, (261), pp.1-9.

Hazard EB. 1982. The mammals of Minnesota. Minneapolis (MN, USA): University of Minnesota Press.

Kays RW, Wilson DE. 2009. Mammals of North America. Princeton (NJ, USA): Princeton University Press.

Kurta A. 2017. Mammals of the Great Lakes region. Ann Arbor (MI, USA): University of Michigan Press.

Linzey DW. 1998. The mammals of Virginia. McDonald & Woodward Publishing.

Naughton D. 2012. The natural history of Canadian mammals. Toronto (ON, CA): University of Toronto Press.

NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) Biorepository, Arizona State University Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (accessed through the NEON Biorepository Data Portal, https://biorepo.neonscience.org/, 2023-12-15).

Say T. 1823. In James, E. Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and '20 : by order of the Hon. J.C. Calhoun, secretary of war: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long.

Seabloom R, Hoganson JW, Jensen WF. 2020. The mammals of North Dakota. Fargo (ND, USA): North Dakota State University Press.

Webster WD, Parnell JF, Biggs WC. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Chapel Hill (NC, USA): University of North Carolina Press.

Whitaker JO, Hamilton WJ. 1998. Mammals of the eastern United States. Ithaca, (NY, USA): Cornell University Press.

Wilson DE, Ruff S, editors. 1999. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington D.C. (USA): Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

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