Sorex cinereus Kerr; Masked 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.
Sorex cinereus -- Masked Shrew

Last updated: 26 November, 2005

Species Description

Adult total length: 3 1/2 - 4 in. (85 - lOO mm)
Tail: 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in. (30 - 40 mm)
Hind foot: 1/2 in. (7 - 13 mm)
Weight: 1/10 - 1/4 oz. (3 - 7 g)
Physical Characteristics: The masked shrew ranges from dark brown to brownish-gray on the back with pale gray under-parts. The tail is relatively long and is indistinctly bi-colored. Shrews possess long tapering snouts and have tiny eyes and ears. Hearing and smell are acute. The tips of the incisor teeth are a dark chestnut 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

Sorex cinereus

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 masked shrew ranges from Alaska and Canada south through the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico and through the Mountains to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Range Maps

North America Great Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Most frequently found above 3,000 feet in both deciduous and evergreen forests, although several have been taken at Smokemont ( 2,200 feet ), along Buck Prong (2,500 feet ), and 13 individuals were taken along the Foothills Parkway between Cove Creek and Caney Creek at elevations ranging from 1,430 feet to 2,400 feet ( Harvey, 1991 ). The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is near the southern limit of the range of this shrew.
- Cocke Co.: Old Black Mountain (6,300 feet).
- Sevier Co.: Foothills Parkway (1,430 - 2,100 feet); Buck Prong (2,500 -4,500 feet); Greenbrier; Newfound Gap Road (4,000 feet); Buck Fork ( 4,200 -4,500 feet ); Walker Prong (4,350 feet); near Rocky Spring Gap; Miry Ridge Trail (4,600 feet); trail between Forney Ridge and Andrews Bald (6,000 feet); Mt. Guyot (6,620 feet).
- State (Tenn. - N.C.) line: Indian Gap ( 5,200, feet ); Mt. Kephart (5,600 -6,200 feet); Mt. Collins (6,100 -6,188 feet); Dry Sluce Gap; Clingmans Dome (6,400 -6,642 feet).
- Swain Co.: Smokemont (2,200 feet); 8 miles northeast of Smokemont; Flat Creek (4,900 feet); Old Indian Gap Road at Clingmans Dome Road (5,200 feet); Dry Sluice Trail (5,500 feet).

Index
Habitat

Masked shrews are most commonly found among rocks and logs in moist deciduous and evergreen forests.

Index
Natural History

Reproduction
Little is known about the breeding habits. Most masked shrews breed from spring to late summer with females producing litters of 3 to 6 young. There may be 2 to 3 litters per year with gestation lasting approximately 3 weeks. "Reproductively active" individuals were observed from mid-August to mid October in the spruce-fir zone ( Smith and Mouzon, 1985). Shrew nests are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter with a 2 to 4 inch inside diameter and are composed mainly of finely shredded grasses and leaves. Young are weaned and become independent between 3 and 4 weeks of age.

Longevity
Masked shrews probably do not survive more than two years in the wild.

Terrestrial Ecology
Masked shrews are active both day and night during all seasons of the year. Though primarily terrestrial, they are able to swim well. These shrews feed primarily on insects, spiders, worms, and other invertebrates (Linzey and Linzey, 1973).

The home range of shrews probably covers an area of 1/4 to 1 acre.

Predators and Defense
Predators include snakes, owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals such as opossums, foxes, bobcats, weasels, and skunks. Eight masked shrews were found in the stomach of a bobcat taken on Newfound Gap Road in Tennessee at elevation of 3,700 feet (Linzey, 1995).

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

Harvey, M.J. 1991. Survey for threatened and endangered mammals on the right-of- way of proposed segment 8D of the Foothills Parkway. Report to the Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Komarek, E. V. and R. Komarek. 1938. Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Science 5(6):137-62.
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. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Last modified: 8 April, 2002

North America	Great Smokies