Blarina carolinensis

Southern Short-tailed Shrew
(*Blarina carolinensis*)
Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Suborder:	Erinaceota
Superfamily:	Soricoidea
Family:	Soricidae
Subfamily:	Soricinae
Tribe:	Blarinini
Genus:	Blarina
Binomial details
	Blarina carolinensis (Bachman, 1837)
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis) is a medium-sized gray shrew of the southeastern United States. It is found in a variety of moist and upland habitats, commonly with deep leaf litter and rotting logs. It can also be found in abandoned agricultural fields.

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."

Museum type specimens

Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Dorsal view.
Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Ventral view.

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	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."

Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Dorsal view of the skull.
Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Ventral view of the skull.
NEON05XEB. Blarina carolinensis. Adult male. Talladega National Forest, Hale County, Alabama. Dorsal view of the skull. Scale is 1 mm.
NEON05XEB. Blarina carolinensis. Adult male. Talladega National Forest, Hale County, Alabama. Lateral view of the skull. Scale is 1 mm.
Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Neotype: USNM 574157. Blarina carolinensis carolinensis. Adult male. Beside Awendaw Creek, 3.2 km E Awendaw Post Office, Charleston County, South Carolina. Collected 27 July 1989. Lateral view of the mandible.
NEON05XEB. Blarina carolinensis. Adult male. Talladega National Forest, Hale County, Alabama. Four unicuspids are clearly visible in side view; the third and fourth are smaller than the first and second.

Similar species

Adults of Blarina carolinensis are generally smaller than adults of the Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) and the Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina hylophaga).

From Schmidley & Bradley (2016) for Texas: "Blarina hylophaga differs in having slightly larger cranial measurements and a noticeably larger fourth premolar [than B. carolinensis]. Also, B. hylophaga tends to be grayish in coloration, whereas B. carolinensis is often tinged with brown."

Southern Short-tailed Shrew (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.