Blarina brevicauda (Say); Short-Tailed Shrew

Don Linzey & Christy Brecht
Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, Virginia 24382

Species Description

Photographs

Phylogeny

Geographic distribution

Habitat

Natural History

Conservation Biology

Links to Other Sites

Acknowledgements

References

© Copyright John White, 2003.
All rights reserved. Served from CalPhotos.
Blarina brevicauda -- Short-Tailed Shrew

Species Description

Adult total length: 3 3/4 - 4 1/4 in. (95 - 108 mm)
Tail: 3/4 - 1 1 /4 in. (18 - 30 mm)
Hind foot: 1 1/2 - 3 1/4 in. (12 - 20 mm)
Weight: 1/2 - 1 oz. (14 - 28 g)
Physical Characteristics: The short, dense, velvet fur is uniformly slate gray with slightly paler underparts. The short tail is well haired. In overall length, the short-tailed shrew is the second largest of the eight species of shrews found in the park. By weight, however, it is the heaviest. Shrews possess long tapering snouts and tiny eyes and ears. Hearing and smell are acute. The tips of the incisor teeth are dark chestnut in color. Shrews have five toes on each foot.


left lateral view of skull and mandible	dorsal view of skull	ventral view of skull

Index
Photographs

Blarina brevicauda

Index
Phylogeny

Taxonomic Category	Scientific Name	Common Name
Phylum	Chordata	Chordates
Class	Mammalia	Mammals
Order	Insectivora	Insectivores
Family	Soricidae	Shrews
Subfamily	Soricidae	Shrews

Index
Geographic distribution

The short-tailed shrew inhabits the forests and grasslands of the eastern half of the United States and adjacent Canada south to Georgia and Alabama. The range extends west to Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and Central Nebraska.

Range Maps

North America Great Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The short-tailed shrew can be found in almost all kinds of habitats at all elevations. It is one of the most widely distributed mammals in the park.
- Blount Co.: Cades Cove; Spence Field (5,000 feet).
- Cocke Co.: Cosby (1,750 - 2,500 feet); near Low Gap (3,300 - 3,400 feet); Snake Den Mountain (3,800 feet); Cosby Knob shelter (4,800 feet).
- Sevier Co.: park headquarters (1,400 feet); Foothills Parkway (1,100 feet to 2,400 feet); Greenbrier (1,800 - 4,700 feet); Cherokee Orchard (2,400 feet); Elkmont (2,500 feet); Fish Camp Prong (2,730 feet); Newfound Gap Road (3,000 - 4,000 feet); Big Branch (3,200 feet); Fort Harry Cliffs (3,200 feet); Alum Cave parking area- Grassy Patch (3,800 feet); near Rocky Spring Gap; Beech Gap; Horseshoe Mountain; West Prong of the Little Pigeon River (4,000 feet); Walker Prong (4,700 feet); Bullhead Trail; Indian Gap (5,200 feet); Mt. Guyot (6,300 feet); Mt. LeConte.
- State (Tenn. - N.C.) line: Laurel Tops (5,650 feet); Mt. Chapman (5,750 feet); Mt. Kephart (6,000 - 6,200 feet); Silers Bald; Clingmans Dome (6,642 feet).
- Haywood Co.: Big Creek Ranger Station (1,600 - 3,000 feet ); Cataloochee Cove (2,600 - 2,700 feet); Walnut Bottom (3,042 feet); Pin Oak Gap (3,500 feet); Black Camp Gap (4,550 feet).
- Swain Co.: Kanati Fork (2,800 feet); seven miles east of Smokemont (3,000 - 3,100 feet); Beech Flats Creek (4,000 feet); Moore Springs shelter; Heintooga Overlook (5,300 feet); Silers Bald (5,600 feet); Peaks Corner shelter (5,500 - 6,000 feet); Forney Creek Trail; Forney Ridge parking area (6,400 feet); Clingmans Dome (6,400 feet).

Index
Habitat

Moist woodland bordering swamps and streams with some leaf litter and low herbaceous vegetation seems to be preferred.

Index
Natural History

Reproduction
Short-tailed shrews breed from late winter to September. In the park, nursing females have been reported in June, July, and September (Linzey, 1995b). A lactating female was recorded in the spruce-fir zone on September 22 (Smith and Mouzon, 1985). Males in breeding condition have been found in March and September. Gestation lasts 21 to 22 days, and litters usually consist of 4 to 7 young. A female containing 4 embyos was recorded in the park on July 1 (Linzey, 1995b). Spring young tend to mature more rapidly than autum young and may breed in late summer or autum (George, 1999). Shrew nests are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter with a 2 to 4 inch inside diameter. They are composed of finely shredded grasses and leaves. Young are weaned and independent at 4 weeks of age.
Longevity
Although individuals may live up to 30 months, generally only 11% live more than a year (George, 1999).
Terrestrial Ecology
Short-tailed shrews make shallow runways beneath the surface litter. They also use the burrows and runways of other animals. Nests of dry leaves and grasses are constructed beneath logs, stumps, and rocks. Individuals generally are solitary except during the mating season.
Although short-tailed shrews are active both day and night during all seasons of the year, they are most active at night and in the early morning (George, 1999). They tend to be more active on cloudy days rather than on sunny or rainy days. They feed primarily on earthworms, millipedes, insects, arachnids, and molluscs. In the park, individuals have been reported feeding on millipedes, insects and insect larvae, gastropods, earthworms, and the fungus Endogone (Komarek and Komarek, 1938; Linzey and Linzey, 1973). The short-tailed shrew is the only poisonous mammal in North America. The poison is both a neurotoxin and a hemotoxin. The poison is produced by the submaxillary salivary gland and is present in the saliva. It acts as a slow poison and immobilizes insects and other prey. Immobilized insects remain alive for 3 to 5 days and provide a source of fresh non-decomposing food.
Home ranges average about 2.5 hectares (George, 1999). Individual ranges overlap; short-tailed shrews are not thought to be territorial.
Predators and Defense
These shrews have a particularly strong musky odor. For this reason, some predators such as foxes and bobcats may kill these shrews but not eat them. In the park, known predators include black rat snakes (Elaphe obsoleta), barred owls (Strix varia), and spotted skunks (Spilogale putorius).
Parasites
The flea Epitedia wenmanni testor has been reported in the park (Linzey, 1995b).

Index
Conservation Biology

Special Protection Status
- Rangewide: None.
- In Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.

Index
Links to Other Sites

University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology
eNature

Index
Acknowledgements

Text

Dr. Donald W. Linzey, Wytheville Community College - wclinzd@wcc.vccs.edu
Christy Brecht, Wytheville Community College - wcbrecc@wcc.vccs.edu
Photographs
- Roger Barbour
Map development
- Richard Schulz, Great Smoky Mountains National Park - richard_schulz@nps.gov
Web page design & coding
- Denise Lim, University of Georgia, Athens
- John Pickering, University of Georgia, Athens

Index
References

George, S. B. 1999. Northern short-tailed shrew. Pages 47-49. In: Wilson, D. E. and S. Ruff (editors). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Komarek, E. V. and R. Komarek. 1938. Mammals of the Great Smokey Mountains. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Science S(6):137-162.
Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.
Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1):1-81.
Linzey, D. W. and A. V. Linzey. 1973. Notes of food of small mammals from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee-North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 89 (1 and 2): 6-14.
Smith, T. R. and J. M. Mouzon. 1985. Small mammal survey in the spruce-fir zone of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Typewritten final research report. In library of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Last modified: 8 April, 2002

North America	Great Smokies