Cryptotis parva (Say); Least 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 The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals,
edited by Don E. Wilson & Sue Ruff, 1999. All rights reserved.
Cryptotis parva -- Least shrew

Last updated: 26 November, 2005

Species Description

Adult total length: 2 3/4 - 3 1/4 in. (70 - 80 mm)
Tail: 1/2 - 3/4 in. (12 - 19 mm)
Hind foot: 1/2 in. (9 - 12 mm)
Weight: 1/10 - 1/5 oz. (3 - 6 g)
Physical Characteristics: The least shrew is the smaller of the two short-tailed shrews that occur in the park and is the shortest of all the park's mammals. The upperparts are dark grayish-brown, while the under parts are somewhat paler. 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

Cryptotis parva

Index
Phylogeny

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

Index
Geographic distribution

The least shrew is found throughout the eastern United States south of a line from central New York to central South Dakota, western Nebraska, eastern Colorada, and west through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to New Mexico.

Range Maps

North America Great Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: This shrew has been taken at localities up to 2,730 feet.
- Blount Co.: Cades Cove.
- Sevier Co.: Foothills Parkway- Cove Creek (1,430 feet); Fighting Creek (1,442 feet); park headquarters (1,500 feet); Greenbrier Cove (1,800 feet); Fish Camp Prong (2,730 feet).

Index
Habitat

The least shrew, unlike most shrews, prefers dry, open, grassy fields. The Komareks found this shrew in moderately overgrown broomsedge fields and in an open grassy patch along the forest margin. These types of habitats have been decreasing in the park as cultivated areas yield to the regrowth of forest. Thus, numbers of Cryptotis in the park are undoubtedly less now than prior to the establishment of the park.

Index
Natural History

Reproduction
In the park, least shrews probably breed from late winter until late fall. A lactating pregnant female was recorded on August 13 (Ambrose, 1986). A female that had just finished nursng was recorded October 16 and four males in breeding condition were recorded October 20 (Komarek and Komarek, 1938). Litters of two to seven young are born after a gestation period of 21 to 23 days. Weaning occurs at about three weeks. 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
Captive shrews have lived two years.
Terrestrial Ecology
Least shrews may be active at any hour, but the peak of activity is at night. They use the runways of mice and rats and the tunnels of moles, or they construct their own tunnels, which are characteristically wider than high.
These shrews feed on snails, lepidopterous larvae, beetle larvae, orthopterans, earthworms, and spiders.
The home range is probably small, perhaps as little as a fraction of an acre.
Predators and Defense
Owls, domestic cats, bobcats, foxes, skunks, and snakes are among the major predators. In the park, a least shrew was recovered from the stomach of a screech owl (Otus asio) (Stupka, 1940).
Parasites
None recorded from the park.

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

Ambrose, J. P. 1986. Dynamics of ecological boundary phenomena along the borders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. (Also National Park Service-Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report 34. February, 1987).
Komarek, E. V. and R. Komarek. 1938. Mammals of the Great Smoky 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.
Stupka, A. 1935-1963. Nature Journal, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 28 volumes (years) each with index. (Typewritten copy in files of Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

Last modified: 8 April, 2002

North America	Great Smokies