Species: Sorex merriami

Merriam's Shrew
Species
Mammals

A relatively small, pale shrew. Upperparts in summer are grayish drab above, becoming paler on flanks, with nearly white underparts (faintly tinged with buff); winter pelage is brighter, drab above, paler below; tail is distinctly bicolored, sparsely haired, drab above, white below; total length 88-107 mm (mean 96.3 mm); tail length 33-42 mm (mean 36.2 m); hind foot 11-13 mm (mean 12.2 mm); condylobasal length of skull 15.7-17.1 mm (mean 16.3 mm); mass 4.4-6.5 g (mean 5.9 g) (Armstrong and Jones 1971).

Source: Encyclopedia of Life

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class

Mammalia

Order

Soricomorpha

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Sorex

Natureserve Explorer
Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106414
Classification
Other Global Common Names
musaraigne de Merriam
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Other Mammals
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Soricomorpha - Soricidae - Sorex - See George (1998) for electrophoretic study of systematic relationships among SOREX species.

A relatively small, pale shrew. Upperparts in summer are grayish drab above, becoming paler on flanks, with nearly white underparts (faintly tinged with buff); winter pelage is brighter, drab above, paler below; tail is distinctly bicolored, sparsely haired, drab above, white below; total length 88-107 mm (mean 96.3 mm); tail length 33-42 mm (mean 36.2 m); hind foot 11-13 mm (mean 12.2 mm); condylobasal length of skull 15.7-17.1 mm (mean 16.3 mm); mass 4.4-6.5 g (mean 5.9 g) (Armstrong and Jones 1971).

Source: Encyclopedia of Life

Short General Description
A shrew.
Habitat Type Description
Terrestrial
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds primarily on lepidopteran caterpillars, beetles, cave crickets (CEUTHOPHILUS spp.), ichneumon wasps (Ichneumonidae), and spiders, as well as other arthropods (Johnson and Clanton 1954, cited in Verts and Carraway 1998; Clark and Stromberg 1987). Has the highest relative bite force of all western shrews studied, indicating that it is adapted to forage on relatively large, hard-bodied prey (Verts and Carraway 1998).
Reproduction Comments
In Washington, pregnant females have been captured from April to July, and nursing females in March, July and October. Three litters ranged from 5-7 (Johnson and Clanton 1954, cited in Verts and Carraway 1998).
Ecology Comments
In Washington and Wyoming, frequently found in association with LAGURUS CURTATUS. <br><br>Owls are the only known predators.
Length
11
Weight
7
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-01
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-01
Other Status

LC - Least concern

Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S1&US.AZ=S3&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S3&US.ID=S2&US.MT=S3&US.NN=S1&US.NE=S1&US.NV=S3&US.NM=S2&US.ND=SNR&US.OR=S3&US.SD=S1&US.UT=SH&US.WA=S3&US.WY=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
G - 200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles) - G - Western U.S (Verts and Carraway 1998) and extreme southern British Columbia (D. Nagorsen, pers. comm.); occurs in the Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, northern Great Plains and southern Rocky Mountains. Elevations of 650-9500 ft (Armstrong and Jones 1971). George (1990) provided information on range extensions in New Mexico. Benedict et al. (1999) discussed new collections in northwestern Nebraska.
Global Range Code
G
Global Range Description
200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106414