Sorex palustris (Richardson)

Water Shrew

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


© Copyright Roger Barbour. All rights reserved.
Sorex palustris -- Water Shrew

Last updated: 26 November, 2005

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Species Description

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

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Photographs

Sorex palustris

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Phylogeny

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

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Geographic distribution

The range of the water shrew extends across Canada from Labrador and Nova Scotia to southeastern Alaska. The range extends south in the Appalacian Mountains to Tennessee and North Carolina, in the Rocky Mountains to Utah and New Mexico, and in the Sierra Nevada to California.

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Habitat

Mostly aquatic, the water shrew lives beneath the overhanging banks and in rock crevices along the edges of swiftly flowing mountain streams. Rhododendron and yellow birch are usually the dominant vegetation in these areas.

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Natural History

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Conservation Biology

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Links to Other Sites

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Acknowledgements

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References

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Last modified: 8 April, 2002