Blarina brevicaudus

137. Northern Short-tailed Shrew Blarina brevicaudus French: Grande Musaraigne / German: Nordliche Kurzschwanzspitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana colicorta septentrional Other common names: Giant Mole Shrew, Short-tailed Shrew Taxonomy. Sorex brevicaudus Say, 1823, “ Engineer cantonment ... west bank of the Missouri [River], about half a mile [= 0-8 km] above Fort Lisa, five miles [= 8 km] below Council Bluff, and three miles above the mouth of Boyer’s River,” Nebraska, USA. Restricted by J. K. Jones, Jr. in 1964 to “ Washington County, Nebraska, about five miles [= 8 km] north of the Douglas-Washington county line at a place approximately two miles [= 3 -2 km] east of the present village of Ft. Calhoun.” Widely used specific name brevicauda is replaced with the original epithet brevicaudus because it is not a Latin adjective, does not require change for gender agreement, and remains valid. Blarina brevicaudus was considered conspecific with B. hulophaga and B. carolinensis by E. R. Hall in 1981, and telmalestes was regarded as a distinct species in the same publication. Blarina hulophaga and B. carolinensis were subsequently recognized as distinct species by S. B. George and colleagues in 1986 and most other publications, while telmalestes has generally been regarded as a subspecies of B. brevicaudus, which was followed by R. Hutterer in 2005. C. A.Jones and colleagues in 1984 speculated that shermani (then recognized as a subspecies of B. carolinensis) would either be a subspecies of B. brevicaudus or a distinct species, and R. A. Benedict and colleagues in 2006 recognized B. shermani as a distinct species based on morphometrics (being substantially smaller than B. brevicaudus) and the species allopatric distribution, which is followed here although genetic data are needed to confirm this. S. V. Brant and G. Orti in 2002 found that B. brevicaudus was genetically sister to B. carolinensis, with B. hulophaga basal to them both. Brant and Orti in 2003 found that B. brevicaudus consists of two genetic lineages (eastern and western) separated by the Mississippi River, which apparently corresponds with recognized subspecific distributions. Additional investigation into subspecific arrangement of B. brevicaudus is needed. Eleven subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. B.b.brevicaudusSay,1823—SWOntarioandextremeSEManitoba(Canada)andmostofNorthDakota,SouthDakota,Minnesota,WWisconsin,Nebraska,Iowa,WIllinois,N&EKansas,Missouri,NEOklahoma,andNArkansas(USA). B. b. aloga Bangs, 1902 — Martha’s Vineyard I, off SE Massachusetts (USA). On following pages: 138. Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis); 139. Everglades Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina peninsulae); 140. Sherman's Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina sherman); 141. Sichuan Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella quadraticauda); 142. Burmese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella ward); 143. Indochinese Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella griselda); 144. Chinese Mole Shrew (Anourosorex squamipes); 145. Taiwanese Mole Shrew (Anourosorex yamashinai); 146. Assam Mole Shrew (Anourosorex assamensis); 147. Giant Mole Shrew (Anourosorex schmidi); 148. Desert Gray Shrew (Notiosorex crawford); 149. Cockrum'’s Gray Shrew (Notiosorex cockrumi); 150. Large-eared Gray Shrew (Notiosorex evotis); 151. Villa's Gray Shrew (Notiosorex villa); 152. Mexican Shrew (Megasorex gigas); 153. Taiwanese Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus fumidus); 154. Arboreal Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus macrurus); 155. Bailey's Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus baileyi); 156. Long-tailed Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus leucops); 157. Hodgson's Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus caudatus); 158. Sichuan Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus sacratus); 159. Hidden Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus umbrinus); 160. Nepalese Brown-toothed Shrew (Episoriculus soluensis); 161. Himalayan Shrew (Soriculus nigrescens); 162. De Winton's Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hypsibia); 163. Pygmy Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parva); 164. Smith's Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa smithii); 165. Salenski's Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa salenski)); 166. Dusky Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa furva); 167. Lesser Taiwanese Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa sodalis); 168. Van Sung'’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa caovansunga); 169. Hoffmann’s Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa hoffmanni); 170. Lowe's Brown-toothed Shrew (Chodsigoa parca); 171. Bornean Water Shrew (Chimarrogale phaeura); 172. Sumatran Water Shrew (Chimarrogale sumatrana); 173. Malayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale hantu); 174. Chinese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale styani); 175. Himalayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale himalayica); 176. Leander’s Water Shrew (Chimarrogale leander); 177. Japanese Water Shrew (Chimarrogale platycephala); 178. Elegant Water Shrew (Nectogale elegans); 179. Mediterranean Water Shrew (Neomys anomalus); 180. Transcaucasian Water Shrew (Neomys teres); 181. Eurasian Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens). B.b.angustaR.M.Anderson,1943—SEQuebecandNNewBrunswick(Canada). B.b.churchiBole&Moulthrop,1942—SEKentucky,SWVirginia,ETennessee,andWNorthCarolina(USA). B.b.compactaBangs,1902—NantucketI,offSEMassachusetts(USA). B.b.hooperiBole&Moulthrop,1942—extremeSEQuebec(Canada)andNVermont(USA). B.b.kirtlandiBole&Moulthrop,1942—EWisconsin,Michigan,EIllinois,Indiana,Ohio,extremeSWNewYork,Pennsylvania,WestVirginia,Maryland,Delaware,mostofVirginia,Kentucky,Tennessee,WNorthCarolina,WSouthCarolina,NAlabama,andNGeorgia(USA). B.b.manitobensisR.M.Anderson,1947—C&SESaskatchewanandSManitoba(Canada),andNNorthDakota(USA). B.b.pallidaR.W.Smith,1940—NMaine(USA)andC&SNewBrunswickandNovaScotia(Canada). B.b.talpoidesGapper,1830—S&SEOntarioandSQuebec(Canada),andfromNewEnglandStoNewYorkandNewJersey(USA). B. b. telmalestes Merriam, 1895 — SE Virginia and extreme NE North Carolina (USA). Descriptive notes. Head-body 90-114 mm,tail 17-32 mm, hindfoot 13-16 mm; weight 11-30 g. The Northern Short-tailed Shrew is the largest species of Blarina and the largest shrew in the Americas. Snout is pointed but shorter and wider than in other species of shrews. There is little to no secondary sexual dimorphism. Pelage is short, soft, and considerably mole-like in winter and shorter and slightly paler in summer. Dorsal pelage is silvery dark slate gray in winter and paler silvery gray in summer, although its pelage can range from silvery to black. Juveniles have shorter and fuzzier pelage, which can be hard to distinguish from adults in summer. Ventral pelage is a somewhat paler gray, shorter, and denser than dorsal pelage. There is a bare patch of lightly colored skin around diminutive eyes. Albinos have been recorded. Ears are very small and completely concealed by fur; vibrissae are long and white. Tail is less than 30% of head-body length, hairy, and similar in color to dorsal pelage, being faintly bicolored in adults with small tuft at end. Feet are short and broad, with long claws, and are paler than rest of body. Characteristic of the genus, the Northern Short-tailed Shrew has five unicuspid teeth and significantly larger and angular skull than other shrews. All species of Blarina also have reddish teeth from iron deposits in their teeth. All five species are difficult to tell apart, but the Northern Short-tailed Shrew is larger than all the other species and has unique karyotype. The Northern Short-tailed Shrew is one of the few venomous mammals, having submaxillary glands at base of lower incisors that secrete venomous saliva that flows through grooves between two teeth when the individual bites. The toxins in the venom are so far known to include the blarinatoxin (BLTX), a 253 amino acid (aa) peptide; blarinasin, a 252 aa peptide; and soricidin, a 54 aa peptide. BLTX and blarinasin have kallikrein-like proteolytic activity similar to that of lizard venom while soricidin is a paralytic oligopeptide that can block nerve impulses by inhibiting calcium channels. Females have three pairs of inguinal mammae. More than 144 species of endoparasites and ectoparasites have been named from the Northern Short-tailed Shrew, including at least two lice, two leptinid beetles, one cuterebrid fly, 25 fleas, 34 ticks and mites, and many nematodes, trematodes, and cestodes. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48-50 and FN = 52. Habitat. Typically, hardwood deciduous forests with deep leaflitter and around edges of ponds and streams but also coniferous forests, open grass and sedge fields, farmhouses, and marshlands. The Northern Short-tailed Shrew is considered a habitat generalist, and it is most notably associated with food availability, while avoiding areas with extreme temperatures and moisture, although moist areas seem preferred. The more northern populations (southern Quebec) have been reported in mature deciduous or coniferous forests and less commonly in fields with tall grasses or sedges. It is occasionally found near homes or shelters and agricultural fields. In dry deciduous forests,it seeks out wetter microhabitats. In eastern Tennessee,it readily inhabits areas with few shrubs, dense overstory, hard ground, and high density of stumps and logs, which are much more specific habitat requirements than those of other populations. In south-eastern Virginia and north-eastern North Carolina (subspecies telmalestes), it inhabits marshy habitats. Food and Feeding. Northern Short-tailed Shrews are primarily insectivorous, although they are considerably omnivorous and will even eat vertebrates. Earthworms and millipedes are major parts of their diets, along with other arthropods (sowbugs, arachnids, various larval insects, centipedes), various plant material, snails, vertebrates, and fungi (e.g. Endogone) on rare occasions. Vertebrate prey largely consists of mice and voles, although there are reports of preying on other shrews (Sorex), snakes (Thamnophis and Nerodia), young Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus), and slimy salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus). To subdue prey, they bite it and hold on while injecting their venom, which paralyzes most in

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