Geographic Range
Sorex cinereus , commonly called the Masked shrew or common shrew, is the most widely distributed shrew found in North American. Common shrews occur throughout the northern United States, most of Canada, and Alaska. They do not occur on Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands, in tundra habitats, arctic islands, or in extreme northern Quebec. (Nagorsen, 1996; van Zyll de Jong, 1983).
Habitat
Common shrews occupy a diversity of habitats, most common are open and closed forests, meadows, river banks, lake shores, and willow thickets. Habitat suitability depends on the availability of water and the highest population densities can be found in moist environments. Common shrews also do well in disturbed habitats such as those disturbed by fire or logging. The average home range is 0.6 hectares (Nagorsen, 1996; Pagels, et al. 1994)).
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- Terrestrial Biomes
- forest
- rainforest
Physical Description
Sorex cinereus is the second smallest shrew species. Sorex hoyi is slightly smaller. Although similar in size, their coloration is quite different. There is no significant sexual dimorphism in common shrews. Dorsal fur is brown, ventral fur is greyish-white. Pelage tends to be darker overall in winter. The tail is brown above and pale underneath, with a blackish tip. Average length of the tail is 39.9mm, comprising over 40% of the total length. Average length of adults is 99 mm. Young are born hairless and with fused eyelids, they weigh from 0.2 to 0.3 grams and are 15 to 17 mm long including a 3 mm long tail (Nagorsen, 1996; Wilson and Ruff, 1999; van Zyll de Jong, 1983).
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
The breeding season for Sorex cinereus occurs from April to October in eastern North America but may extend into November if food is plentiful. Length of gestation is unknown. The average number of embryo produced by various populations ranges from five to eight across North America, with at least two litters produced by a female in a breeding season. Both males and females may breed in their first summer but this is not typical (Nagorsen, 1996).
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
Young are cared for and nursed by their mother in her nest until they reach about 20 days old.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- female parental care
Lifespan/Longevity
Masked shrews probably do not live much past 1 to 2 years old, most probably die before reaching adulthood.
Behavior
Common shrews are most active after dark, when 85 per cent of activity occurs. They are especially active between 01:00 and 02:00, when there has been a rainfall, or on very dark nights. Their primary activity is hunting. Common shrews hunt primarily on the ground but may also climb into low vegetation and shrubs. They run quickly, can jump to 10-15 cm high, and dig in loose substrate (Nagorsen, 1996; van Zyll de Jong, 1983).
Communication and Perception
Little is known of communication in masked shrews. They have an excellent sense of smell and can see fairly well. They use their sensitive whiskers to find their way around and detect prey. Masked shrews also probably squeak and hiss as a way of communicating.
Food Habits
Because Sorex cinereus inhabits a wide range there is great geographic variation in diet. Ants represent 50% of the food source for common shrews in Michigan, whereas insect larvae are the dominant prey item in New Brunswick. Kelp flies and marine amphipods are major dietary items in Nova Scotia. They are also important predators of forest insect pests such as Jack Pine Budworms and Larch Sawflies. In general, common shrews consume a variety of invertebrates including insect larvae, ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, harvestmen, centipedes, slugs, snails. Seeds and fungi are also consumed (Nagorsen, 1996).
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- eats non-insect arthropods
Predation
Masked shrews avoid being preyed upon by staying under cover and being active mostly at night, they are rarely seen.
Ecosystem Roles
Masked shrews can be very abundant in the communities in which they live. They can have a dramatic impact on insect communities because they have to consume such large quantities of insects. They are also important prey items for many small predators.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The extent to which common shrew populations affect humans is unknown. However, they have a significant impact on populations of insect pests and are important members of communities (Nagorsen, 1996).
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Negative impacts of S. cinereus are unknown. However, they may affect populations of some beneficial organisms or inhibit reproduction of some plants by consuming seeds (Nagorsen, 1996).
Conservation Status
Common shrews are common and widespread and none of the Genus Sorex , including Sorex cinereus , are considered to be threatened or endangered species (Boyd et al., 1999; Nagorsen, 1996; Wilson and Ruff, 1999).
Additional Links
Contributors
Wendy Lee (author), University of Toronto.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- marsh
-
marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.
- swamp
-
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Boyd, S., K. Carlin-Morgan, B. Coslick, A. Edwards, M. Flood. June 1, 2000. "Mammals: Sorex cinereus, S. fumeus, S. longirostris & Microsorex hoyi" (On-line). Accessed October 6, 2000 at http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/~GA Wildlife/ .
Nagorsen, D. 1996. Opossums, Shrews and Moles of British Columbia . UBC Press/Vancouver: Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook ISSN 118-5114.
Pagels, J., K. Uthus, H. Duval. 1994. The Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus, in a Relictual Habitat of the Southern Applachian Mountains. Pp. 103-109 in Advances in the Biology of Shrews . Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 18.
Wilson, D., S. Ruff. 1999. The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals . Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press.
van Zyll de Jong, C. 1983. Handbook of Canadian Mammals. vol. 1, Marsupials and Insectivores . Ottawa, Canada: National Museums of Canada.