Blarina carolinensis
| Southern Short-tailed Shrew
(Blarina carolinensis) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Eulipotyphla |
| Suborder: | Erinaceota |
| Family: | Soricidae |
| Subfamily: | Soricinae |
| Tribe: | Blarinini |
| Genus: | Blarina |
| Binomial details | |
| Blarina carolinensis (Bachman, 1837) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
Description
From Best & Hunt (2020): "The southern short-tailed shrew is a slate gray shrew with a short tail, short legs, a fusiform shape, and inconspicuous eyes and ears. The snout is relatively pointed and well furred with long white vibrissae. The tail is short, hairy, faintly bicolored, and slightly flattened dorsoventrally. The underside is sometimes slightly paler than the back. Of the four species of shrews in this genus, the southern short-tailed shrew is the smallest. Length of head and body is usually less than 81 mm, length of hind foot is usually less than 13 mm, and weight is usually less than 13.5 g."
From Schmidly & Bradley (2016): "A rather robust, short-legged, short-tailed shrew with long, pointed, protruding snout; external ears short and nearly concealed by the soft, dense fur; tail less than half the length of head and body, usually less than twice as long as hind foot; upperparts dark slate to sooty black, often tinged with brown; underparts paler; tail black above, paler below."
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) | 83–99 (n=24) | 17–22 (n=24) | 10–12 (n=24) | 9 (n=1) | |
| Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland | Webster et al. (1985) | 79–123 | 14–29 | 8–15 | ||
| Florida | Best & Hunt (2020) | 84–102 | 18–26 | 11–14 | ||
| Florida (northern) | Whitaker Jr. & Hamilton Jr. (1998) | 89–102 (n=17) | 18–26 (n=17) | 11.5–14 (n=17) | 5.5–10.3 (n=11) | |
| Louisiana | Best & Hunt (2020) | 72–95 | 13–23 | 10–14 | ||
| North Carolina and Virginia | Whitaker Jr. & Hamilton Jr. (1998) | 84–107 (n=39) | 15–23 (n=39) | 11–15 (n=39) | ||
| rangewide | Wilson & Ruff (editors, 1999) | 72–107 | 12–26 | 5.5–13 | ||
| South Carolina | Best & Hunt (2020) | 99–105 | 15–23 | 12–13 | ||
| Texas | Schmidly & Bradley (2016) | 88 | 17 | 11 | 18–28 | |
| Virginia | Linzey (1998) | 85–105 | 15–23 | 6–12 |
Skull
From McCay (2001): "The first 2 unicuspids are similar in size and larger than 3rd and 4th unicuspids, which are also similar in size. The 5th unicuspid is minute and may not be seen when viewed laterally."
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Dorsal view of the skull of Blarina carolinensis. Scale is 1 mm. -
Lateral view of the skull of Blarina carolinensis. Scale is 1 mm. -
Unicuspids of Blarina carolinensis. Four unicuspids are clearly visible in side view; the third and fourth are smaller than the first and second.
Similar species
Throughout most of its range, Blarina brevicauda is much larger than B. carolinensis and B. hylophaga. Where the range of B. carolinensis overlaps with other smaller Blarina species, identification using external characters may be difficult.
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Blarina carolinensis -
Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) -
Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina hylophaga)
References
Bachman J. 1837. Some remarks on the genus Sorex, with a monograph of the North American species. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 7(2): 366.
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.
McCay TS. 2001. Blarina carolinensis. Mammalian Species, 2001(673), pp.1-7.
Schmidly DJ, Bradley RD. 2016. The mammals of Texas. Austin (TX, USA): University of Texas Press.
Webster WD, Parnell JF, Biggs WC. 1985. Mammals of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. Chapel Hill (NC, USA): University of North Carolina Press.
Wilson DE, Ruff S, editors. 1999. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Washington D.C. (USA): Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.