Species: Sorex hoyi
American Pygmy Shrew
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Soricomorpha
Family
Soricidae
Genus
Sorex
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Pygmy Shrew - musaraigne de Hoy - musaraigne pygmée
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Soricomorpha - Soricidae - Sorex - . Test
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A small long-tailed shrew.
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Primarily dependent upon invertebrates. Diet in New Brunswick included mainly insect larvae, beetles, and spiders (Whitaker and French 1984).
Reproduction Comments
In Kentucky-Tennessee, primary birth period was January-early March; individuals entered the trappable population about 8 weeks later; births also occurred August-December but at a lower rate; few were born in June and July (Feldhamer et al. 1993). Gestation lasts probably 2-3 weeks. Litter size is 5-6. One litter/year (?). Sexually mature in second summer.
Ecology Comments
In Michigan, densities of 0.2-2 individuals per acre were estimated (Baker 1983).
Length
10
Weight
4
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-01
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-01
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S4&CA.BC=S5&CA.LB=S1&CA.MB=S5&CA.NB=S5&CA.NT=S5&CA.NS=S4&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=S4&CA.PE=S2&CA.QC=S5&CA.SK=S5&CA.YT=S5&US.AL=S1&US.AK=S5&US.CO=S2&US.GA=S2&US.ID=S1&US.IL=SH&US.IN=S2&US.IA=SU&US.KY=S4&US.ME=S5&US.MD=SNR&US.MA=S1&US.MI=S5&US.MN=SNR&US.MT=S4&US.NH=S5&US.NJ=SNR&US.NY=S4&US.NC=S3&US.ND=SU&US.OH=SNR&US.PA=SNR&US.SC=S3&US.SD=S2&US.TN=S2&US.VT=S2&US.VA=S4&US.WA=S2&US.WV=S2&US.WI=S4&US.WY=S1" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Distributed throughout much of Canada and Alaska, excluding northern tundra zones. Contiguous U.S. populations are limited to the northern Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes region, and New England, with disjunct populations in the Southern Rockies (e.g., northern Colorado) and Appalachians (e.g., widespread and locally abundant in Virginia). In the 1970s and 1980s, recorded in southern Indiana, Kentucky, and western Tennessee (see Feldhamer et al. 1993), and South Carolina (Mengak et al. 1987).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)