Neurotrichus gibbsii
American Shrew Mole
(Neurotrichus gibbsii) | |
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Range | |
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Taxonomic classification | |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Suborder: | Erinaceota |
Family: | Talpidae |
Subfamily: | Talpinae |
Tribe: | Neurotrichini |
Genus: | Neurotrichus |
Binomial details | |
Neurotrichus gibbsii (S. F. Baird, 1858) |
Neurotrichus gibbsii is the only living member of the genus Neurotrichus. It is also the smallest mole in the Americas.
Description
From Verts & Carraway (1998): "The pelage is black; the eyes are rudimentary; the external auditory meatus is slitlike; the nose is elongate, flattened dorsoventrally, opens laterally, and possesses a fringe of bristles; and the mouth is inferior. The feet are pentadactyl, digitigrade, and scaly; the forefeet are about 4 mm wide, 5.4 mm long, adn 2 mm deep; tuberculate on the soles; and equipped with long curved claws (Dalquest and Orcutt, 1942). The tail is about 50% of the length of the head and body, fat, sparsely haired, blunt ended, covered with transverse annular rows of scales and tufted (Jackson, 1915)."
From Jameson & Peeters (2004): "A small, dark, or black mole with only moderately expanded forefeet. The tail is distinctive; it is about one-third the total length of the animal and constricted at the base."
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 |
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California | Jameson & Peeters (2004) | 110–125 | 33–45 | 15–18 | 10–13 | |
Oregon | Verts & Carraway (1998) | 92–121 | 30–50 | 11–18 | 6–13 | |
rangewide | Naughton (2012) | 98–126 | 29–50 | 14–19 | 8.0–14.5 |
Skull
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Dorsal view of the skull of the American Shrew Mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii), the only living member of the genus Neurotrichus. -
Lateral view of the skull of the American Shrew Mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii). -
Ventral view of the skull of the American Shrew Mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii).
Similar species
From Verts & Carraway (1998): "Neurotrichus gibbsii can be distinguished from other talpids in Oregon by its smaller size, 36 instead of 44 teeth, bilobed basal projections on M1 and M2, thin and only slightly bowed zygomata, and forefeet only moderately modified for digging (Carraway and Verts, 1991b). It may be distinguished from shrews of similar size and color by the absence of red pigment on the teeth."
References
Carraway LN, Verts BJ. 1991. Neurotrichus gibbsii. Mammalian Species (387):1-7.
Dalquest WW, Orcutt DR. 1942. The biology of the least shrew-mole, Neurotrichus gibbsii minor. The American Midland Naturalist 27(2):387-401.
Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 2004. Mammals of California (No. 66). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.
Jackson HHT. 1915. A review of the American moles. North American Fauna 38:1-100.
Naughton D. 2012. The natural history of Canadian mammals. Toronto (ON, CA): University of Toronto Press.
Verts BJ, Carraway LN. 1998. Land mammals of Oregon. Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.