Cryptotis berlandieri

Berlandier's Least Shrew
(*Cryptotis berlandieri*)
Berlandier's Least Shrew (Cryptotis berlandieri)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Suborder:	Erinaceota
Superfamily:	Soricoidea
Family:	Soricidae
Subfamily:	Soricinae
Tribe:	Blarinini
Genus:	Cryptotis
Species group:	Cryptotis parvus group
Binomial details
	Cryptotis berlandieri (S. F. Baird, 1857)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Berlandier's Least Shrew (Cryptotis berlandieri) is a very small gray to gray-brown shrew. It was previously considered a subspecies of Cryptotis parvus. It averages slightly larger than Cryptotis parvus. The species can be found in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, and forests.

Description

From Woodman (2018): "Cryptotis berlandieri in Texas and northern Tamaulipas average larger than C. parvus from the central Great Plains. There is also preliminary evidence that populations of C. berlandieri in Texas and northern Tamaulipas may differ from those in more southern parts of the distribution in Mexico (Choate, 1970). A more comprehensive study of populations within C. berlandieri than has been undertaken so far may reveal more genetic variation than currently recognized."

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
Texas and Mexico (Rio Grande area)	Choate (1970); compiled by Whitaker Jr. (1974)	80.3		11.8

Skull

Lectotype: USNM 2159. Cryptotis berlandieri. Age and sex not given. Vicinity of Matamoras (Matamoros), Tamaulipas, Mexico. Date of collection not given. Remarks: No type was designated in the original description. Dorsal view of the skull.
Lectotype: USNM 2159. Cryptotis berlandieri. Age and sex not given. Vicinity of Matamoras (Matamoros), Tamaulipas, Mexico. Date of collection not given. Ventral view of the skull.
Lectotype: USNM 2159. Cryptotis berlandieri. Age and sex not given. Vicinity of Matamoras (Matamoros), Tamaulipas, Mexico. Date of collection not given. Lateral view of the skull.
Lectotype: USNM 2159. Cryptotis berlandieri. Age and sex not given. Vicinity of Matamoras (Matamoros), Tamaulipas, Mexico. Date of collection not given. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Lectotype: USNM 2159. Cryptotis berlandieri. Age and sex not given. Vicinity of Matamoras (Matamoros), Tamaulipas, Mexico. Date of collection not given. Lateral view of the left mandible.

Similar species

From Woodman (2018): "Cryptotis berlandieri in Texas and northern Tamaulipas average larger than C. parvus from the central Great Plains."

References

Baird SF. 1857. Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Volume 8: General Report upon the Zoology of the Several Pacific Railroad Routes. Part 1: Mammals. Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson.

Choate JR. 1970. Systematics and zoogeography of middle American shrews of the genus Cryptotis. University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History 19:195-317.

Whitaker Jr JO. 1974. Cryptotis parva. Mammalian Species (43)1–8. https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.2307/3504033

Woodman N. 2018. American Recent Eulipotyphla: nesophontids, solenodons, moles, and shrews in the New World. Washington D.C. (USA): Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.1943-6696.650.