cyatta is a genus of ant in the subfamily myrmicinae containing the single species cyatta abscondita .

it is considered the most recent ancestor of all fungus-farming ants and a living fossil .

cyatta

richness of cyatta species ( countries with darker colours are more species - rich ) . for a list of species and subspecies see the checklist of cyatta species or for valid names only see cyatta species .
cyatta sosa - calvo , schultz , brandão et al . , 2013 : 4 . type - species : cyatta abscondita , by original designation .
the new species of fungus - growing ant from brazil has been named cyatta abscondita .
chamber with a fungus garden grown by cyatta abscondita . image credit : ted schultz / smithsonian .
expansion of the geographic range of cyatta abscondita sosa‑calvo et al . , 2013 ( hymenoptera : formicidae )
cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil .
cyatta abscondita is considered to be a ‘living fossil , ’ which can reveal ways in which early attini ants may have lived .
expansion of the geographic range of cyatta abscondita sosa‑calvo et al . , 2013 ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) | ramos | check list
new distribution records of the savanna specialist fungus - farming ant cyatta sosa - calvo et al . ( hymenoptera : formicidae : myrmicinae )
cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . - pubmed - ncbi
new distribution records of the savanna specialist fungus - farming ant cyatta sosa - calvo et al . ( hymenoptera : formicidae : myrmicinae )
an excavated cyatta fungus garden , showing the cultures suspended from a chamber ceiling . ( modified from sosa - calvo et al 2013 fig . 6 ) .
holotype worker ( usnment00758173 ) ( a , c , e ) and paratype gyne ( usnment00758174 ) ( b , d , f ) of cyatta abscondita .
taxonomic treatments database ( 2012 ) . cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . checklist dataset
census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your cyatta ancestors , such as occupation . occupation can tell you about your ancestor ' s social and economic status .
but cyatta is not just another trachymyrmex . this new ant occupies an unusual space in the attine tree . cyatta , along with its sister kalathomyrmex , doesn’t share recent ancestry with other attines , instead tracing its origin to near the origin of the whole tribe . as such , it will provide another perspective from which to triangulate our inferences of how ant agriculture developed .
cyatta abscondita was first recognized by jeffrey sosa - calvo and his colleagues as a single misidentified specimen in 2003 in the collections of the museum of zoology at the university of sao paulo in brazil .
census records can give you a fascinating window into the day - to - day lives of your cyatta ancestors - like hours worked per week , level of education , veteran status , employers , and more .
the ghost ant , formally cyatta abscondita , is considered a living fossil , the most recent ancestor of all fungus farming ants , that researchers hope will unveil new clues about how early attine ants may have lived .
use census records and voter lists to see where families with the cyatta surname lived . within census records , you can often find information like name of household members , ages , birthplaces , residences , and occupations .
sosa - calvo j et al . 2013 . cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498 ; doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498
urltoken on the basis of the extreme amount of morphological divergence and the outcome of the divergence relationship explanations ( see below ) , we have chosen to describe cyatta like a new genus in place of to describe it as a variety within the genus kalathomyrmex discovery history .
the genus name , cyatta , is a neologism constructed in part from the brazilian tupi language word cy , meaning ‘sister , ’ and the name of the ant genus atta . the specific name , abscondita , means ‘hidden ant’ and refers to the exceedingly secretive nature of the new species .
an unusually short lifespan might indicate that your cyatta ancestors lived in harsh conditions . a short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family . the ssdi is a searchable database of more than 70 million names . you can find birthdates , death dates , addresses and more .
cyatta is a neologism constructed in part from the brazilian tupi language word cy , meaning
sister ,
referring to its status , along with the genus kalathomyrmex , as the sister clade to the remaining genera of the informal clade neoattini , to which the genus atta , the most conspicuous member of the neoattini , belongs .
ted schultz , curator of ants at the national museum of natural history , studies the nest and behavior of the newly discovered fungus - farming ant species , cyatta abscondita , in brazil . the new species is a ‘living fossil’ which can help scientists reveal the way in which the first fungus - farming ant may have lived .
( a , b ) fazenda agua limpa ( faz ) . ( a ) excavation of nest jsc100412 - 01 in dormitory garden area . ( b ) cerrado senso stricto , where colonies were found on the side of the road . ( c , d ) nest entrance of cyatta abscondita ( white arrows ) . ( c ) worker entering nest . ( d ) nest entrance of cyatta abscondita , consisting of an inconspicuous ~ 1mm diameter hole in the ground . ( e ) chamber with pendant fungus garden . ( f ) excavation of nest 4 ( jsc110920 - 01 ) . black bars indicate two chambers , the lower one 104 cm below the surface .
sosa - calvo j , schultz tr , brandão crf , klingenberg c , feitosa rm , et al . ( 2013 ) cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498 . doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498
sosa - calvo j , schultz tr , brandão crf , klingenberg c , feitosa rm , et al . ( 2013 ) cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498 . doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498
for example , cyatta gardens resemble those of kalathomyrmex and mycocepurus , strengthening our inference that simple suspended gardens were the form used by the ancestor of all neoattines . and the presence of larval anchor hairs employed in other genera to hang larvae along the sides of the nest chamber ( see clint penick’s research ) , suggests that brood - hanging may have been present in the early attines but was subsequently lost .
@ misc { sosa - calvo _ cyattaabscondita : , author = { jeffrey sosa - calvo and ted r . schultz and carlos r . f . br and christiana klingenberg and rodrigo m and christian rabeling and maurício bacci and cauê t . lopes and heraldo l . vasconcelos } , title = { cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil } , year = { } }
most notably , cyatta differs from all other attine genera and species by the following autapomorphies : ( i ) mandible of the worker and gyne with four teeth ; ( ii ) in ventral view , metapleura of the worker and gyne with two piniform processes between the mid and hind coxae , apparently absent in the male ; ( iii ) apical margin of the pygidium medially emarginate , v - shaped ; and ( iv ) forewing of the male with a closed discal cell .
sosa - calvo , j . , t . r . schultz , c . r . f . brandão , c . klingenberg , r . m . feitosa , c . rabeling , m . m . jr . bacci , c . t lopes and h . l . vasconcelos . 2013 . cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498 . doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498
the genus cyatta shares with other members of the neoattine clade : ( i ) the antennal scape of the male long , longer than the sum of the length of antennal funicular segments i–iii ; ( ii ) the first funicular segment ( pedicel ) of the antenna of the male longer than second funicular segment ; ( iii ) the petiole in workers somewhat sessile ; ( iv ) the lack of hypostomal teeth in workers and gynes ; and ( v ) the maxillary palp of the larva widely removed laterad from the galea .
this dataset contains the digitized treatments in plazi based on the original journal article jeffrey sosa - calvo , ted r . schultz , carlos r . f . brandao , christiana klingenberg , rodrigo m . feitosa , christian rabeling , mauricio bacci jr . , caue t . lopes , heraldo l . vasconcelos ( 2013 ) : cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : 1 - 20 , doi : doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498
sosa - calvo , j . , schultz , t . r . , brandão , c . r . f . , klingenberg , c . , feitosa , r . m . , rabeling , c . , bacci , m . jr . , lopes , c . t . , heraldo , l . vasconcelos , h . l . 2013 . cyatta abscondita : taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498 . doi : 10 . 1371 / journal . pone . 0080498 .
cyatta shares with its sister genus , kalathomyrmex , ( i ) the lack of a tubercle or spine on the inferior lateral margin of the pronotum , a symplesiomorphy shared with the paleoattine clade ; ( ii ) the clypeus with a pair of lateral transverse carinae , each extending from the frontal lobe to the mandibular insertion and each medially developed into a lamella perpendicular to the clypeal face , thus forming a wall that divides the clypeus laterally into anterior and posterior areas ; and ( iii ) the mandibles of the male with three teeth , of which the apical and preapical teeth are the largest and have a multidentate ( sawlike ) margin .
cyatta differs from its sister genus kalathomyrmex , however , by ( i ) having , on the forewing of the male ( forewing of gyne unknown ) , a closed marginal cell ( open in the forewings of both the male and gyne of kalathomyrmex [ klingenberg and brandão , therein as radial cell ] ) ; ( ii ) the mesoscutum of the male with strongly impressed notauli ( absent in the male of kalathomyrmex ) ; ( iii ) the pronotum of the male with lateral pronotal tubercles present , pyramidal ( the pronotum in the male of kalathomyrmex lacks any tubercles ) ; and ( iv ) the psammophore absent in the worker , the gyne , and the male .
the ghost ant , a new genus and species described in the journal plos one reveals clues about one of the world ' s earliest agricultural specialists .
scientists know of more than 240 ants in the group attine that evolved more than 50 million years ago , capable of growing elaborate fungal gardens as a source of food within nests for their colonies .
the c . abscondita was first recognized in 2003 , when researchers working with a museum species collection in sao paulo , brazil realized it was a misidentified species . based on where this misidentified species was located , the researchers traced it back to two biomes : caatinga , an under explored desert - like region populated widely by small thorny vegetation , and cerrado , a tropical savanna region known among experts as a biodiversity hotspot .
it took years of work and numerous large holes for the researchers to confirm the ghost ant was indeed a new species . the work to identify the ants by their intricate nests required the researchers to dig holes as deep as two meters in the ground .
the ghost ants grow fungus gardens on the walls of chambers in their nest . while the fungus may not require the ants to survive , it ' s clear the ants depend on the fungus for their own survival .
you must log in to access this functionality . you may create an account , or log in anonymously , here .
gyne . preocular carina absent . mandible 4 - toothed , apical tooth nearly twice as long as preapical tooth . parapsidal lines inconspicuous .
male . mandibles broadly triangular with apical and subapical teeth present . anterior margin of clypeus ( clypeal apron ) convex , projecting over mandibles , and with a long median seta . discal cell present in forewing .
antweb content is licensed under a creative commons attribution license . we encourage use of antweb images . in print , each image must include attribution to its photographer and
from urltoken
in the figure caption . for websites , images must be clearly identified as coming from urltoken , with a backward link to the respective source page . see how to cite antweb .
antweb is funded from private donations and from grants from the national science foundation , deb - 0344731 , ef - 0431330 and deb - 0842395 . c : 1
an international group of entomologists has described a new genus and species of fungus - farming ant from brazil .
fungus - growing ants ( tribe attini ) make up a group of more than 240 species . they evolved more than 50 million years ago , growing elaborate fungal gardens as a source of food within nests for their colonies .
these ants are nocturnal and forage for organic debris to grow their fungus gardens , which hang in curtain - like columns from the ceilings of their hidden underground chambers .
the fungi that the attini ants cultivate are probably not completely dependent upon their ant partners to survive and reproduce ; they may be capable of surviving independently . the ants , however , are obligatorily dependent on the fungi for their survival .
while theories about the origin of attini ants’ relationships with fungi remain a topic of debate , entomologists generally support the hypothesis that ants first began to interact with fungi by sharing overlapping habitats .
based on where the specimens had been collected , the entomologists traced the location of the species to two separate , highly threatened , biomes in brazil : caatinga , an underexplored desert - like region populated widely by small thorny vegetation , and cerrado , a tropical savanna region known among experts as a biodiversity hotspot .
“after discovering such an informative species in caatinga and cerrado , we are very excited to return to these regions to learn more about this fascinating group of ants , ” said study second author dr ted schultz of smithsonian’s national museum of natural history .
“with the majority of the world’s invertebrates still waiting to be identified , the age of discovery is only just beginning . ”
“brazil is a key steward in understanding our planet’s incredible natural history and biodiversity , and it plays a vital role in making findings like this possible , ” dr schultz concluded .
juvenile australopithecus climbed trees , 3 . 32 - million - year - old foot fossil shows
© 2011 - 2018 . sci - news . com . all rights reserved . | back to top
this page was last modified on 20 january 2014 , at 06 : 27 .
sosa - calvo , schultz , brandão , klingenberg , feitosa , rabeling , bacci , lopes & vasconcelos 2013 . yes , that’s the full name . modified from sosa calvo et al 2013 figure 1 .
figure 7 from sosa - calvo et al 2013 . this phylogeny is based on 4 nuclear protein - coding genes .
one final gripe - because i always have a gripe - is that all authors of the paper are also listed as authors of the genus and species . this makes the formal name for the new ant an impressive :
this moniker will be a handful for people who handle taxonomic databases , or for taxonomists who will need to write about this ant . i doubt all authors contributed equally to the written description embedded in the paper ; surely a separate , smaller authorship for the description would have made for a less cumbersome name .
in that vein , does anyone know if there is a longer authorship for any animal species ? this is the largest i’ve seen .
all text and images appearing on myrmecos . net , except where indicated , are copyrighted © 2002 - 2018 alexander wild . image use policy copyright infringement policy
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
by jeffrey sosa - calvo , ted r . schultz , carlos r . f . br , christiana klingenberg , rodrigo m , christian rabeling , maurício bacci , cauê t . lopes , heraldo l . vasconcelos
our website has detected that you are using an outdated insecure browser that will prevent you from using the site . we suggest you upgrade to a modern browser .
the website you are about to visit is progenealogists ® , operated by tgn services , llc , a subsidiary of ancestry .
this page needs javascript enabled in order to work properly . click here for instructions on how to enable it in your browse
historically , surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation , place of origin , clan affiliation , patronage , parentage , adoption , and even physical characteristics ( like red hair ) . many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to britain and ireland .
a monotypic genus closely allied with the attine genus kalathomyrmex . the single known species is a fungus growing ant .
species richness by country based on regional taxon lists ( countries with darker colours are more species - rich ) . view data
the following information is derived from barry bolton ' s new general catalogue , a catalogue of the world ' s ants .
unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description .
preocular carina absent . mandible 4 - toothed , apical tooth nearly twice as long as preapical tooth . parapsidal lines inconspicuous .
mandibles broadly triangular with apical and subapical teeth present . anterior margin of clypeus ( clypeal apron ) convex , projecting over mandibles , and with a long median seta . discal cell present in forewing .
this page was last modified on 26 june 2017 , at 18 : 40 .
a couple weeks ago a media guy from our college of natural sciences , thomas swafford , stopped in to shoot a short piece promoting the insect collection . have a look !
i have never been more pleased to report a taxonomic name change than this one . long called “ tetramorium caespitum” , then “ tetramorium species e” once it became clear the eurasian t . caespitum was a complex of cryptic forms , the pavement ant has spread across the world and is now among most common urban ants in north america . after decades of confusion , herbert wagner has published a fine monograph on the taxonomy of the species complex . among wagner’s many discoveries was that santschi’s 1927 “ immigrans” was valid for this world - traveller . an apt change , and a fine resolution of a long - standing problem .
wagner , h . c . et al ( 2017 ) . light at the end of the tunnel : integrative taxonomy delimits cryptic species in the tetramorium caespitum complex ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) ” . myrmecological news 25 : 95 - 129
concluding , among many results , that a slate of socially parasitic genera had evolved from within their host genera . the names of parasitic genera were subsequently sunk . inclusion of derived groups in their parent genera has been standard practice for decades as a way to keep names consistent with ancestry .
we contend that banning all paraphyletic groups while simultaneously executing binominal linnaean nomenclature results in a taxonomy going off the rails .
still , given the volumes of vituperative ink spilled a half - century ago in the cladism wars , and the weight of the pro - monophyly consensus among all biologists , i suspect this renegade group of ant scientists will be fighting an uphill battle .
disclosure : i eclosed as a myrmecologist from phil ward’s lab , so of course i am not without my allegiances .
sources : seifert , b . et al 2016 . banning paraphylies and executing linnaean taxonomy is discordant and reduces the evolutionary and semantic information content of biological nomenclature . insectes sociaux doi : 10 . 1007 / s00040 - 016 - 0467 - 1
ward , p . s . et al 2015 . the evolution of myrmicine ants : phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . systematic entomology , 40 : 61–81 . doi : 10 . 1111 / syen . 12090
, an australian myrmicine . the narrow , two - segmented waist is characteristic of this subfamily .
we’re only halfway through the year , but already 2014 will be remembered as pivotal for studies of ant evolution and classification . following right on the heels of schmidt & shattuck’s massive ponerine revision comes
from the ant tree of life group . ward , brady , fisher , and schultz ( 2014 ) have reconstructed the first thorough genus - level phylogeny of the great ant subfamily myrmicinae .
roughly half of all ants are myrmicines , both in abundance and in species diversity . their numbers include fire ants , harvester ants , leafcutter ants , big - headed ants , acrobat ants , and so on , to the tune of some 6 , 000 + species .
so… boom ! suddenly , we’ve been given a detailed picture of the evolution of half the ants . this is big . it is so big i cannot cover the paper in detail . instead , i’ll just give a few preliminary thoughts , as follows :
the myrmicine big picture . ( sharpie on office paper , 2014 , limited edition print available , unless i recycle it ) .
distressingly , fuzzy resolution in a data set with this many markers and taxa means achieving proper resolution , if at all , will likely be expensive . myrmicines may have speciated so explosively that we may never be able to reconstruct what happened with confidence .
4 . the authors correct a few of the more obvious instances of paraphyly . notably , the new world “
most of the identified problems - such as what to do with monomorium and aphaenogaster – were left for targeted future research .
5 . remember the dispute over pyramica vs . strumigenys ? the argument was fundamentally over how ant mandibles evolve . apparently , high energy trap - jaws arise easier than anyone imagined . according to ward et al , not only is the assemblage of trap - jaw ants formerly included in dacetini a polyphyletic splatter , even within the genus strumigenys the trap jaw has arisen at least twice .
, modified from figure 1 in ward et al 2014 , showing strong support for the parallel evolution of trap - jaws in the genus .
of the neotropics , sitting on a distant branch of the ant tree . peas in a poneromorph pod…
ultimately , ward et al have crafted a sobering view of how little we still know about ant evolution , and how much remains to be done .
. systematic entomology , online early . doi : 10 . 1111 / syen . 12090
disclosure : i received my ph . d . from phil ward’s lab where much of this study was completed , and i contributed a few of the samples , but i was long gone by the time the study was initiated and have had no other involvement with the research .
a monumental day for ant taxonomy ! the mythical schmidt & shattuck ponerine revision , long rumored to be in the works , has emerged from the mists of legend and lore . it’s real ! all 242 pages are in
you might think such large changes would invite controversy , but i anticipate that the new scheme will be widely accepted and largely stable .
in the big picture , schmidt & shattuck have put this important group of ants on a stronger taxonomic foundation . in the small picture , we are faced with the mundane realities of re - memorization .
pachyondyla apicalis ? no longer . get used to neoponera apicalis . pachycondyla stigma ? nope . it’s pseudoponera stigma . plus , there’s brachyponera , pseudoneoponera , mesoponera…
source : schmidt , ca , shattuck , so ( 2014 ) the higher classification of the ant subfamily ponerinae ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) , with a review of ponerine ecology and behavior . zootaxa 3817 ( 1 ) : 001–242 .
urban ant collectors across temperate north america are undoubtedly familiar with the pavement ant tetramorium caespitum * . this small brown insect is as common as dirt along sidewalks .
the pavement ant is not native here . rather , it is a european species that proliferates in the novel habitats where americans added cement and paving stone to previously uncapped , pavement - free soils . since we love our sidewalks and our asphalt , we have created a lot of ant habitat and a lot of pavement ants .
this diagnosis failed in the 1980s when an extremely similar species was introduced to st . louis . the newcomer , the japanese pavement ant
. on average , the new introduction is slightly smaller and with slightly larger propodeal spines . your chances of nailing the id based on a single worker aren’t great .
there is one easy identification trick that works pretty well at low magnification in the field , though . the trick is worth learning , because tetramorium tsushimae appears to be more aggressively invasive than the common pavement ant and may become more common as it spreads from missouri and illinois .
colonies of the japanese pavement ant usually host a great deal more color variation in the workers .
while older t . tsushimae are uniformly dark , the same as their european counterparts , younger workers are strongly bicolored , with a light thorax , giving colonies a more varied appearance . this difference should be visible in the photograph above .
now that you can spot the difference , keep an eye out for t . tsushimae . it could show up many places where t . caespitum is currently king .
* sometimes called “ tetramorium sp . e . ” , for reasons too lengthy to discuss here .
source : steiner , florian m . , birgit c . schlick - steiner , james c . trager , karl moder , matthias sanetra , erhard christian , and christian stauffer . 2006 . tetramorium tsushimae , a new invasive ant in north america . biological invasions 8 ( 2 ) : 117 - 123 .
this book is not a book . it’s an unpublished student thesis from the university of texas at el paso .
apparently bibliogov , a publishing company that scrapes state websites and repackages content to sell to unsuspecting buyers , has picked up the deposited thesis and is printing it on demand . the research was not completed to the point of submission to a peer - reviewed journal , and neither the student nor her adviser intended to publish the work . at least , not in the current form . the thesis was merely filed as a requirement for the student to graduate .
this sort of robo - publishing would not normally be a problem but for the legalistic nature of how taxonomic names are regulated . publishing is a formal act that makes taxonomic names available . third party printing potentially legitimizes taxonomic proposals never intended for release . not good . taxonomy already has enough chaos without robots jumping the gun .
should the practice of scraping and publishing theses become common , either the international commission on zoological nomenclature will have to adopt a set of rules suppressing involuntary publication , or students of taxonomy should be uniquely exempt from filing dissertations with unpublished results .
[ update : to clarify , these robo - books don’t automatically make a name available under iczn rules . a couple other conditions about the timing and deposition of the content must be met that may or may not be the case . ]
if you’re going to fail at taxonomy , you may as well fail big .
snelling , borowiec , and prebus 2014 from jasper ridge biological reserve , california , usa .
with the humous assistance of matt prebus and marek borowiec . the paper provides an illustrated key to species , range maps , and descriptions of ten new taxa . among the newbies is
that nests in trees” . at last ! a real name . the etymology of this entomology is given as :
when hernán cortéz was conquering central mexico , the nahua speaking people related to him tales of a fabulous land , ruled by women , far to the northwest that was rich in gold and gems . they named this land “caguatán” , the land of women . this tale presumably inspired cortéz and other avaricious conquistadors to search for this marvelous land , ultimately leading the spaniards to the californias .
if you’ve ever wondered why no single easy reference book exists for identifying north america’s ants , this is the reason . the state of taxonomy remains more rudimentary than you’d think , with many species still nameless or poorly understood . a few dozen more studies like roy’s and someone will finally be able to give our ants a decent guide .
source : snelling r , borowiec m , prebus m ( 2014 ) studies on california ants : a review of the genus temnothorax ( hymenoptera , formicidae ) . zookeys 372 : 27 - 89 . doi : 10 . 3897 / zookeys . 372 . 6039
the most infamous ant in the world is surely the tropical american bullet ant , paraponera clavata . this conspicuous insect is known for an unusually painful sting . it is not the only big rainforest ant , however , and other species are frequently mistaken for it .
here is how to make sure that big ant you saw was really a bullet ant .
1 . check your location : in the wild , bullet ants are only found in low - elevation forests from honduras south to paraguay . if you are not in central or south america , you don’t have a bullet ant . ( source )
2 . check the size : bullet ants are not just large , they are massive – over an inch long . they look like plastic toy ants brought to life .
3 . check for the characteristic thoracic horns . bullet ants have a pair of blunt horns on the first segment of the thorax . no other ant its size has the horns .
4 . check the shape of the petiolar node . the waist of the bullet ant has a sharp , forward - leaning triangular node .
south america ? check . massive ? check . horns ? check . forward - pointing waist segment ? check .
is an ubiquitous big rainforest ant with a shape confusingly similar to that of the bullet ant . but
is too small , as are the horns , and the waist segment is the wrong shape .
is common and also packs a painful sting , but this large species is not big enough to be a bullet ant and it lacks the horns .
leafcutter ant soldiers are big and even have the thoracic horns , but they aren’t big enough , they lack the right waist shape , and are their overall body proportions are different .
black turtle ants are common and conspicuous , but they are much smaller than bullet ants and have sharp spines rather than blunt horns .
is not quite big enough , its horns are more forward on the thorax , and it doesn’t have the right waist shape .
with any luck , you should now be able to check the identification of your purported bullet ant without having to run a sting test .
baudoin m ( 1975 ) host castration as a parasitic strategy . evolution 29 : 335–352
bolton b ( 2014 ) an online catalog of the ants of the world .
boomsma jj , nash d ( 2014 ) evolution : sympatric speciation the eusocial way . curr biol 24 : r798–r800
boomsma jj , huszár db , pedersen js ( 2014 ) the evolution of multiqueen breeding in eusocial lineages with permanent physically differentiated castes . anim behav 92 : 241–252
bourke afg , franks nr ( 1991 ) alternative adaptations , sympatric speciation and the evolution of parasitic , inquiline ants . biol j linn soc 43 : 157–178
bourke afg , franks nr ( 1995 ) social evolution in ants . princeton university press , princeton
brandão crf ( 1991 ) adendos ao catálogo abreviado das formigas da região neotropical ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . rev brasil entomol 35 : 319–412
brown wl jr ( 1973 ) a comparison of the hylean and congo - west african rain forest ant faunas . in : meggers bj , ayensu es , duckworth wd ( eds ) tropical forest ecosystems in africa and south america : a comparative review . smithsonian institution press , washington dc , pp 161–185
bruch c ( 1928 ) estudios mirmecológicos . anales del museo nacional de historia natural buenos aires 34 : 341–360
forel ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) in laboratory colonies . neotrop entomol 31 : 469–473
buschinger a ( 1986 ) evolution of social parasitism in ants . trends ecol evol 1 : 155–160
buschinger a ( 2009 ) social parasitism among ants : a review ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . myrmecol news 12 : 219–235
cabrera al , willink a ( 1980 ) biogeografía de américa latina . segunda edición . monografía 13 , serie biología . programa regional de desarrollo científico y tecnológico , organización de los estados americanos , p 122
caldera e , poulsen m , suen g , currie cr ( 2009 ) insect symbioses—a case study of past , present , and future fungus - growing ant research . environ entomol 38 : 78–92
calero - torralbo m , valera f ( 2008 ) synchronization of host - parasite cycles by means of diapause : host influence and parasite response to involuntary host shifting . parasitology 135 : 1343–1352
( roger , 1863 ) and other congeneric species : taxonomic implications . plos one 8 : e59784
sp . n . ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) : a new social parasite of leaf - cutting ants in brazil . insect sci 14 : 251–257
forel 1893 , em cacauais ( formicidae , myrmicinae , attini ) . anais da sociedade entomolocica do brasil 18 : 193–197
em ilhéus , bahia : primeiro registro para os trópicos . paper presented at the iv international symposium on pest ants and xi encontro de mirmecologia , belo horizonte , minas gerais , brazil
della lucia tmc ( 2011 ) formigas cortadeiras : da bioecologia ao manejo . editora da ufv , viçosa
forel , 1893 ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . anais da sociedade entomolocica do brasil 15 : 377–378
fowler hg ( 1981 ) on the emigration of leaf - cutting ant colonies . biotropica 13 : 316
gallardo a ( 1916 ) notes systématiques et éthologiques sur les fourmis attines de la république argentine . anales del museo nacional de historia natural buenos aires 28 : 317–344
gotwald wh ( 1969 ) comparative morphological studies of the ants , with particular reference to the mouthparts ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . memoirs of the cornell university agricultural experiment station 408 : 1–150
herre ea , knowlton n , mueller ug , rehner sa ( 1999 ) the evolution of mutualisms : exploring the paths between conflict and cooperation . trends ecol evol 14 : 49–53
hölldobler b , wilson eo ( 1990 ) the ants . harvard university press , cambridge
hölldobler b , wilson eo ( 2010 ) the leafcutter ants—civilization by instinct . w . w . norton & company , new york
( pergande ) ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . j kansas entomol soc 66 : 127–128
( l . ) ( hymenoptera , formicidae ) from laboratory cultures . entomol mon mag 113 : 97–98
kempf ww ( 1972 ) catálogo abreviado das formigas da região neotropical . studia entomologica 15 : 3–344
n . gen . ( formicidae : myrmicinae : attini ) . zootaxa 2052 : 1–31
kusnezov n ( 1954 ) phyletische bedeutung der maxillar - und labialtaster der ameisen . zool anzeig 153 : 28–38
kutter h ( 1950 ) über eine neue , extrem parasitische ameise . mitteilungen der schweizerischen entomologischen gesellschaft 23 : 81–94
kutter h ( 1969 ) die sozialparasitischen ameisen der schweiz . neujahrsblatt der naturforschenden gesellschaft in zürich 171 : 1–62
lambardi d , dani fr , turillazzi s , boomsma jj ( 2007 ) chemical mimicry in an incipient leaf - cutting ant social parasite . behav ecol sociobiol 61 : 843–851
mayhé - nunes aj ( 1995 ) filogenia de los attini ( hym . , formicidae ) : un aporte al conocimiento de las hormigas fungívoras . universidad simón bolívar , caracas , venezuela , p 274
mayhé - nunes aj , jaffé k ( 1998 ) on the biogeography of attini ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . ecotropicos 11 : 45–54
möller a ( 1893 ) die pilzgärten einiger südamerikanischer ameisen . botanische mittheilungen aus den tropen 6 : 1–142
mueller ug , gerardo nm , aanen dk , six dl , schultz tr ( 2005 ) the evolution of agriculture in insects . ann rev ecol evol syst 36 : 563–595
nash dr , boomsma jj ( 2008 ) communication between hosts and social parasites . in : hughes dp , d’ettorre p ( eds ) sociobiology of communication : an interdisciplinary perspective . oxford university press , oxford , pp 55–79
nonacs p , tobin je ( 1992 ) selfish larvae : development and the evolution of parasitic behavior in the hymenoptera . evolution 46 : 1605–1620
pagnocca fc , masiulionis ve , rodrigues a ( 2012 ) specialized fungal parasites and opportunistic fungi in gardens of attine ants . psyche j entomol . doi :
rabeling c , bacci m ( 2010 ) a new workerless inquiline in the lower attini ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) , with a discussion of social parasitism in fungus - growing ants . syst entomol 35 : 379–392
rabeling c , schultz tr , pierce ne , bacci m jr ( 2014b ) a social parasite evolved reproductive isolation from its fungus - growing ant host in sympatry . curr biol 24 : 2047–2052
savolainen r , vepsäläinen k ( 2003 ) sympatric speciation through intraspecific social parasitism . proc natl acad sci usa 100 : 7169–7174
ants are social parasites that attack old host colonies . j evol biol 27 : 2396–2407
schmid - hempel p ( 2011 ) evolutionary parasitology : the integrated study of infections , immunology , ecology , and genetics . oxford university press , new york
schultz tr , brady sg ( 2008 ) major evolutionary transitions in ant agriculture . proc natl acad sci usa 105 : 5435–5440
schultz tr , meier r ( 1995 ) a phylogenetic analysis of the fungus - growing ants ( hymenoptera : formicidae : attini ) based on morphological characters of the larvae . syst entomol 20 : 337–370
new species : an incipient social parasite of fungus - growing ants . insect soc 45 : 457–471
schultz tr , mueller ug , currie cr , rehner sa ( 2005 ) reciprocal illumination : a comparison of agriculture in humans and ants . in : vega f , blackwell m ( eds ) ecological and evolutionary advances in insect - fungal associations . oxford university press , new york , pp 149–190
seifert b ( 2010 ) intranidal mating , gyne polymorphism , polygyny , and supercoloniality as factors for sympatric and parapatric speciation in ants . ecol entomol 35 : 33–40
: number , relatedness and longevity of reproducing individuals . j evol biol 7 : 71–95
: taxonomy , evolution , and natural history of a new fungus - farming ant genus from brazil . plos one 8 ( 11 ) : e80498
sumner s , hughes woh , boomsma jj ( 2003a ) evidence for differential selection and potential adaptive evolution in the worker caste of an inquiline social parasite . behav ecol sociobiol 54 : 256–263
sumner s , nash dr , boomsma jj ( 2003b ) the adaptive significance of inquiline parasite workers . proc r soc lond ser b biol sci 270 : 1315–1322
leaf - cutting ants : a test of emery’s rule . insect soc 51 : 37–42
tschinkel wr ( 1996 ) a newly - discovered mode of colony founding among fire ants . insect soc 43 : 267–276
wcislo wt ( 1987 ) the roles of seasonality , host synchrony , and behaviour in the evolutions and distributions of nest parasites in hymenoptera ( insecta ) , with special reference to bees ( apoidea ) . biol rev 62 : 515–542
weber n ( 1957 ) dry season adaptations of fungus - growing ants and their fungi . anat rec 128 : 638
weber na ( 1972 ) gardening ants : the attines . memoirs of the american philosophical society , philadelphia
wheeler wm ( 1907 ) the fungus - growing ants of north america . bull am mus nat hist 23 : 669–807
, with an analysis of the anatomical parasitic syndrome ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . insect soc 31 : 316–334
yek sh , boomsma jj , poulsen m ( 2012 ) towards a better understanding of the evolution of specialized parasites of fungus - growing ant crops . psyche . doi :
santschi , 1925 ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . revista de biología del uruguay 1 : 151–165
( emery , 1887 ) ( hymenoptera : formicidae ) . revista de biología del uruguay 2 : 37–57
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en
urltoken
“through our dna analysis , we learned that the new species is very closely related to the first ant ancestor that began growing fungal gardens , ” said sosa - calvo . “given this relationship , we can infer that some of c . abscondita ’s unique physical and behavioral characteristics hint at what the first agricultural ants and their predecessors looked and acted like . ”
the discovery of the new species entailed a multiyear excavation of intricate nests , delving down to a maximum of two meters beneath the surface . these nests were made up of a network of fragile tunnels and chambers that could be less than a millimeter in diameter .
ghost ants are nocturnal and forage for organic debris to grow their fungus gardens , which hang in curtain - like columns from the ceilings of their hidden underground chambers . the fungi that the ghost ants cultivate are probably not completely dependent upon their ant partners to survive and reproduce ; they may be capable of surviving independently . the ants , however , are obligatorily dependent on the fungi for their survival .
while theories about the origin of attine ants’ relationships with fungi remain a topic of debate , scientists generally support the hypothesis that ants first began to interact with fungi by sharing overlapping habitats . over the course of millions of years , this coincidental overlap between the two species developed into a tentative partnership ; a relationship in which the fungi and the ants could both survive and reproduce without closely interacting with each other . since its origin 50 million years ago , this relationship between fungi and ants has become obligatory in many attine species : neither the fungal species nor the ant species in the relationship can live without the other . this complex process of one organism evolving in concert with another is called coevolution .
understanding how attine ants developed their agricultural relationship with fungi could be extrapolated to improve human farming activities , including sustainable agriculture efforts and crop disease or pest management .
the publication is the result of an international collaboration amongst research institutions based in the u . s . , brazil and germany .
what did the t . rex say when challenged to an arm - wrestling contest ?
privacy & cookies : this site uses cookies . by continuing to use this website , you agree to their use . to find out more , including how to control cookies , see here : cookie policy
we moved to illinois from tucson in 2008 . the naturalist in me cringed at the relocation . tucson is surrounded by rich natural deserts , national parks , and state forests . champaign - urbana is buried in a monotony of industrial corn / soy production . illinois nature was more than 90 % plowed under years ago and hasn’t returned .
yet the midwest has its buggy bright points . what’s left of the local ant fauna remains mostly native and hosts an array of fascinating social parasites . the famous 13 - year periodical cicadas emerged again in 2011 . and the fireflies ! the common eastern firefly photinus pyralis launches a tremendous show in june and july . western fireflies for the most part don’t glow as adults . i missed them when i live in arizona .
i’d been telling mrs . myrmecos every year since the move , “this is the summer i finally shoot the fireflies ! ” and then , for various reasons , i fail to follow through . for a specialized insect photographer to not have photographs of the most spectacular local insect phenomenon was getting ridiculous .
my schedule this past summer finally conspired to allow plenty of evening firefly time , though , so i went at them with a vengeance . if you haven’t seen the results , i’ve uploaded them here :
learning to shoot fireflies on the wing wasn’t easy , but i can distill the strategy down to one key point : spend a few evenings watching the animals behave . each species has a particular courtship pattern , this pattern is predictable , and if you learn it you’re much more likely to know where to put the camera and when to time the shot . photinus pyralis males have a six - second cycle : swoop upward while lit , hover for a couple seconds to watch for a female return signal , the fly forward a few feet to begin the next run .
after some practice hand - holding a pre - focused camera rig and flash , i was able to not only get a flying firefly in focus , i was able to plan for particular backdrops . the photograph above shows a male at the height of his ascent , watching for females .
if you’d like a print , this photograph is one of 30 i’ve included in the holiday print sale , running until january 1 .
canon ef 50mm f / 1 . 4 usm & 12mm extension tube on a canon eos 6d
the next series of posts - behind the photo – will feature the stories behind images i’ve included in this year’s print sale . first up : the brutish male dung beetles in this 2009 creation .
these insects were given to me by biologist emilie snell - rood , who at the time was working in armin’s moczek’s evo - devo lab , with the hope that i might photograph live animals of different shapes and sizes for use in moczek lab papers , web pages , and talks . live photos make compelling stories , after all , and onthopagus taurus has an especially interesting one . it’s about how new body parts evolve .
males of this species employ varying strategies to reach females . the larger ones sport horns and fight over mates , while the smaller hornless ones bear a striking enough resemblance to females to slip past their rivals unrecognized as males . since beetles that are otherwise genetically identical either sprout horns as they develop or don’t , they’ve become a fantastic model for questions about why and how new structures form . biologists can watch the horns grow , or not grow , all within a single sex of a single species . they can also examine the process in related beetles , and make comparisons that allow inferences about how ecology interacts with genomes to produce new horns . if you’re intrigued , you can catch up with the research
my photograph of the dueling male beetles is not a natural scene , of course . wild beetles fight in underground tunnels , face - to - face , not in the gleaming open air of a photography studio , so this scene is less documentation of real world behavior that a stylized illustration of male variation .
the challenge of taking this photograph was two - fold . first , dung beetles are shiny . to capture the subtleties of texture on such a reflective animal , i needed extremely soft lighting . so i fired an upward - facing flash off in a white box . a white box is what it sounds like - a box that’s all white on the inside . the box i used for the above photo is pictured at left , an old toilet paper box with printer paper taped to the inside .
the second challenge was the hyperactivity of the beetles themselves . getting two feisty insects to perform for a well - composed shot took a long time and a lot of attempts . here is a sample of mostly throwaways from the session :
if you’d like to purchase a print , the dueling beetles photograph is one of 30 i’ve included in the holiday print sale , running until january 1 . i have reprocessed the image up from the original raw file just for this event .
canon 100mm f / 2 . 8 macro lens on a canon eos 20d .
velvet ant ; 12×18″ print on a 3 / 4″ standout mount . sale price $ 15 . 99 / $ 42 . 99 unmounted / mounted . ( regular $ 60 / $ 120 )
i am pleased to announce the return of the holiday print sale ! this year’s selection features 30 favorite photographs reduced up to 70 % off regular pricing . have a look :
using high - quality papers and archival photo inks . these are not simple posters ! bay photo will also custom mount , mat & frame images if you choose “add frames & more” when you check out .
why the sale ? i know a portion of my photos go to biology students looking for something buggy to hang on their walls , and to parents of budding young entomologists , and these folks are not in the demographic that typically plays in the fine art market . so i’ve assembled an affordable gallery of some of my best known and biologically informative natural history images priced near cost . an 8×12″ print , for example , is just $ 9 . 99 . i hope you enjoy them !


the smoky shrew ( sorex fumeus ) is a medium-sized north american shrew found in eastern canada and the northeastern united states and extends further south along the appalachian mountains .

smoky shrew

© copyright roger barbour . all rights reserved . sorex _ fumeus - - smoky shrew
north american least shrew , northern short - tailed shrew , and southern short - tailed shrew have shorter tails .
a shrew mole or shrew - mole is a mole that resembles a shrew . species with that name include :
other small mammals of maine include species of several different families . these include the following : hairy - tailed mole , star - nosed mole , water shrew , smoky shrew , long - tailed shrew , pygmy shrew , cinereus shrew , and the northern short - tailed shrew .
the smoky shrew , known for its 2 color molts , occurs in middle and eastern tennessee .
smoky shrew - sorex fumeus smoky shrews travel and forage in underground tunnel systems , but they usually nest in stumps or logs . # wildohio # ohiom… | pinterest
. it is also known as gibb ' s shrew mole and least shrew mole .
a mole shrew is a shrew that resembles a mole . species with that name include :
the asian house shrew (
suncus murinus
) grey musk shrew , asian musk shrew , or money shrew is a widespread , adaptable species of shrew found mainly in south asia but introduced widely throughout asia and eastern africa .
the eurasian pygmy shrew (
sorex minutus
) , often known simply as the pygmy shrew , is a widespread shrew of northern eurasia . it is the only shrew native to ireland .
the panay shrew (
crocidura panayensis
) is a species of shrew from the philippines .
the sibuyan shrew (
crocidura ninoyi
) is a species of shrew from the philippines .
the batak shrew (
crocidura batakorum
) is a species of shrew from the philippines .
compared with the cinereus shrew , the smoky shrew is more selective in habitat , favoring cool and moist sites , and is less often found in drier forested stands .
the arizona shrew (
sorex arizonae
) is a species of shrew native to north america .
the cinereus shrew or masked shrew (
sorex cinereus
) is a small shrew found in alaska , canada and the northern united states . this is the most widely distributed shrew in north america , where it is also known as the common shrew .
the eurasian least shrew (
sorex minutissimus
) , also called the lesser pygmy shrew , is the second - smallest mammal after the etruscan shrew .
the vagrant shrew (
sorex vagrans
) , also known as the wandering shrew , is a medium - sized north american shrew . at one time , the montane shrew and the orizaba long - tailed shrew were considered to belong to the same species .
the sardinian shrew (
asoriculus similis
) is an extinct species of shrew from europe ( sardinia ) .
like all shrew - moles , the stomach size of this shrew mole in inversely proportional to its body weight .
the cyrenaica shrew or alexander ' s shrew (
crocidura aleksandrisi
) is a species of white - toothed shrew in the family soricidae which is endemic to libya .
the long - tailed shrew or rock shrew (
sorex dispar
) is a small north american shrew found in atlantic canada and the north - eastern united states .
the african black shrew (
crocidura nigrofusca
) is a species of shrew . it is native to africa , where it is widespread . other common names include tenebrous shrew .
home range has not been reported for smoky shrews , and territory size also is unknown .
kozlov ' s shrew (
sorex kozlovi
) is a red - toothed shrew found only at the mekong river , tibet , china . this shrew listed as a
data deficient
.
mountain species of shrew found from southeastern canada west to the great lakes and south to the smokies is known as the smoky shrew . mainly nocturnal , the smoky shrew is active day and night and has a head and body that grows up to three inches in length . they are found in cool moist and shady birch or hemlock forests that have lots of leaf and fern growth .
the long - tailed shrew has a slender body , long snout , small eyes and a long , thick tail . its body averages to 2 . 75 inches in length , and its tail can be between 2 . 2 to 2 . 5 inches long . the long - tailed shrew is dark gray with slightly paler under parts . these shrews are often confused with the smoky shrew , but the smoky shrew has a wider body and a shorter , bicolored tail .
the smoky shrew lives in extensive burrows in the leaf mold of the forest floor and are active in even the coldest weather . they constantly twitter as they forage .
felix , z . , l . gatens , y . wang , c . schweitzer . 2009 . first records of the smoky shrew ( sorex fumeus ) in alabama .
when smoky shrews are disturbed , they release a high - pitched squeaking noise , throw themselves onto their backs , and wave their limbs . when searching for food , smoky shrews produce a faint twittering noise .
smoky shrews are insectivores who prey on many insects and their larvae . they are also prey for snakes , owls , weasels , hawks and larger shrews . smoky shrews are hosts to many parasites including mites (
smoky shrews molt their fur twice annually so they have brown with a hint of yellow coat in the summer and gray and white in the winter which provides cryptic coloration . smoky shrews dwell mostly on the forest floor , small enough to maneuver leaf and other vegetative matter . this habitat allows them natural camouflage . when disturbed , smoky shrews produce a high - pitched noise . the main predators of smoky shrews are bobcats (
laerm , j . , w . ford , b . chapman . 2007 . smoky shrew . pp . 95 - 98 in m trani , w ford , b chapman , eds .
whitaker , j . o . , jr . 1999 . smoky shrew . pages 22 - 23 . in : wilson , d . e . and s . ruff ( editors ) .
when smoky shrews are disturbed , they emit a high - pitched squeaking noise , throw themselves onto their backs , and wave their limbs . when searching for food , smoky shrews produce a faint twittering noise , which might be a crude form of echolocation . this has not largely been studied in smoky shrews , but other shrews in
is flat and it does not have an elongated crown , like shrew do .
the smoky shrew has brown fur in the summer and gray fur in the winter months . they have lighter gray under parts and a long tail that is brown on top and yellow underneath .
juvenile and adult smoky shrews are distinguished by weight and tooth , tail , and hair wear . because smoky shrews do not breed within the year they are born , they most often survive until the subsequent breeding season and live a total of 14 to 17 months . the lifespan on smoky shrews in captivity has not been reported and is not currently known .
the smoky shrew is primarily a northern and mountain species and is found throughout the northeastern united states and adjacent canada , south in the appalachian mountains to northern georgia , and west to central ohio and kentucky .
smoky shrews are listed as a species of “least concern” on the iucn red list . cites and the us federal list list smoky shrews as no special status . the michigan natural features inventory states that smoky shrews are
threatened ,
because there have been fewer than half a dozen captures of these individuals in the state . current management efforts are in place to maintain forest cover and leaf litter on the forest floor . it ' s likely that these efforts positively impact smoky shrews .
) . the smokey shrew is near the southern limit of its range in the park .
cinereus shrew is browner , has a smaller body , and has a relatively longer tail .
smoky shrews were named for their slate - gray or blackish - gray winter coat , which develops by the end of october .
: during the summer , the smoky shrew is a medium - sized , uniformly dull brown . during the winter , the pelage of the smoky shrew is usually a uniform gray . the bi - colored tail is brownish above and yellowish below . shrews possess long tapering snouts and tiny eyes and ears . hearing and smell are acute . the tips of the incisor teeth are dark chestnut in color . shrews have five toes on each foot .
smith , t . r . and j . m . mouzon . 1985 . small mammal survey in the spruce - fir zone of great smoky mountains national park . typewritten final research report . in library of great smoky mountains national park , gatlinburg , tennessee .
, which means that it lives in loosely organized communities of about 12 to 15 shrew moles .
smoky shrews prefer moist hardwood forests with decaying logs , thick leaf litter , and moss - covered rocks ; frequently found in higher elevations .
long - tailed shrew has a longer , thicker tail with more hair and is dark gray all year .
the long - tailed shrew is a mid - sized shrew with a slender body and long tail . it lives in cool , rocky , forested areas and can be found year - round in the appalachian mountains .
dig with their forepaws held directly below their body , but shrew - moles dig using lateral - strokes .
: smoky shrews are found at all elevations . they are most abundant in cool , damp woodlands with a deep layer of leaf mold on the ground .
: all plants and animals are protected within great smoky mountains national park . collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes .
sipe , t . , r . browne . 2004 . phylogeography of masked ( sorex cinereus ) and smoky shrews ( sorex fumeus ) in the southern appalachians .
linzey , d . w . 1995a . mammals of great smoky mountains national park . blacksburg , virginia : the mcdonald & ; woodward publishing company , inc .
forsman , k . , m . malmquist . 1988 . evidence for echolocation in the common shrew , sorex araneus .
american shrew - moles are described to be
common
throughout their range ( wilson and ruff , 1999 ) .
due to these factors , it is common for shrew - moles to forage through tunnels that have been dug by other shrew - moles because it is more energetically efficient and more prey might be present in tunnels that have been abandoned .
only turns into bone in the adults and the roots of the upper molars are exposed in immature shrew - moles .
mr . animal helps you better understand the wild one animal at a time . this episode talks about the smokey shrew .
horvath , o . 1965 . arboreal predation on bird’s nest by masked shrew . journal of mammalogy , 46 : 495 .
the smoky shrew is active at all times during day and night throughout the year , though populations are at their peak between july and october . like many other small mammals , populations are cyclical from year to year and surveys should be conducted for several consecutive years to obtain the most reliable results .
whitaker , j . o . , jr . 1999 . smoky shrew ( sorex fumeus ) . pages 22 - 23 in d . e . wilson and s . ruff , editors . the smithsonian book of north american mammals . smithsonian institution press in association with the american society of mammalogists , washington .
smoky shrews are deemed in need of management by both twra and tennessee department or environment and conservation . they are uncommon in the state , but can be abundant in some areas .
it is believed by some that the sound that the wind produces as it goes through the bottle scares the shrew - moles away .
linzey , d . w . 1995b . mammals of great smoky mountains national park - 1995 update . journal of the elisha mitchell scientific society 111 ( 1 ) : 1 - 81 .
when underground shrew - moles can suffer from a low levels of oxygen , high levels of carbon dioxide , and high levels of humidity .
komarek , e . v . and r . komarek . 1938 . mammals of the great smoky mountains . bulletin of the chicago academy of science 5 ( 6 ) : 137 - 162 .
the average total length of smoky shrews is 111 . 4 millimeters , with an average weight of 7 . 6 grams . average tail length is 43 . 8 millimeters , and their hind feet are , on average , 13 . 2 millimeters long . both male and female shrews are similar in size . newborn shrews are blind , toothless , lack fur and weigh 0 . 14 grams . by one month old , they weigh 4 grams . smoky shrews have a generally flattened skull . like all shrews , the snout of smoky shrews is elongated , and they have ears that are often concealed within their fur . smoky shrews have 32 teeth with a dental formula of incisors 1 / 1 , canines 5 / 1 , premolars 1 / 1 , and molars 3 / 3 .
young born in the spring often breed later in the same year . the average life span of a masked shrew is less than 14 months .
the nest of the smoky shrew is the size of a baseball , created out of grasses and leaves about twenty inches below ground , in stumps and logs . adult females have two to three litters per year with five to six young in each litter . young leave the nest after about a month . most adults don ' t survive their second winter which is why juveniles are usually the only ones found in the wintertime . this highly aggressive shrew only has a lifespan of 14 - 17 months
using bait is another method used to control these shrew - moles . the bait usually consists of some type of cereal grain that is treated with chemicals .
very little is known about the ecology and population status of smoky shrews in minnesota . the preferred habitat of the species is currently not uncommon in northern minnesota , so it is possible that habitat is not a limiting factor for the species in the state . the minnesota biological survey targeted smoky shrews in their 2003 survey , and documented six new locations , expanding the known range of the species in minnesota west into lake county . it is not known , however , if smoky shrews inhabited this area historically and simply remained undetected until recently . future surveys are needed to determine the full extent of the species ' distribution and population in the state .
the shrew - mole makes permanent tunnels by digging with its forelimbs and using its forefeet to soften the soil that will be removed to make a hollow tunnel .
in order to cope with these conditions , shrew - moles contain lungs that can hold large volumes and sometimes even more than 20 % of their body weight .
the short - tailed shrew is the only north american mammal with a poisonous bite . that ' s a cool fact , but too bad for an unfortunate snake !
there are also many home remedies that are used to get rid of these shrew - moles , but whether or not these methods are successful are usually not evident .
the presence of smoky shrews is related to soil moisture and mesic habitats , with more individuals being found in larger ( mcshea et al . 2003 ) , older patches of habitat ( kuttner and malcolm 2001 ) . because of this and the fact that little is known about the species ' ability to recolonize areas after logging , the potential presence of smoky shrews should be considered when mesic forests in the vicinity of documented occurrences of this species are slated for harvest .
. males use high - pitched vocalizations to complete with other males when looking for mates . usually in groups of three , the male masked shrews will jump in a breeding chase . it’s likely that smoky shrews have a similar mating system .
laerm , joshua ; ford , w . mark ; chapman , brian r . 2007 . smoky shrew , sorex fumeus . in : trani , margaret k . ; ford , w . mark ; chapman , brian r . , eds . the land manager ' s guide to mammals of the south . durham , nc : the nature conservancy ; atlanta , ga : u . s . forest service : 95 - 98 .
the long - tailed shrew’s range extends from nova scotia , canada to eastern tennessee and north carolina . in the chesapeake bay watershed , they are particularly abundant in the appalachian mountains .
shrew - moles usually live in areas where it is difficult to cultivate so they are usually economically neutral , but there are some cases where they do damage people ' s homes .
the smoky shrew is a small mammal ( 4 . 3 to 5 . 0 in / 11 to 12 . 6 cm in length ) with an elongated head , pointed nose , tiny eyes , and short dark fur . the tail is two - toned , dark on top and yellowish - tan below , and is between 1 . 7 and 2 . 0 inches ( 4 . 2 and 5 . 2 cm ) in length .
throughout its range , smoky shrews occur in deciduous and coniferous forests , bogs , and swamps . moist habitats are important ( mcshea et al . 2003 ) and the preferred microhabitat includes a cool , damp forest floor with a thick litter layer , mossy covered rocks , and decaying debris ( owen 1984 ) . in minnesota , smoky shrews have been found in glacial boulder streams ; second - growth black spruce , fir , paper birch forests ( jannett and oehlenschlager 1994 ) ; mossy , talus slopes ; and sphagnum bogs .
smoky shrews are insectivores feeding on various invertebrates . a north carolina study reported that centipedes ( 36 . 5 % of stomach contents , by volume ) were the most common food item , followed by earthworms ( 19 % ) and adult lepidopterans ( 19 . 5 % ) , and ground beetles in the family scarabidae ( 10 % ) . insects ( adults and larvae ) , spiders , isopods , and some fungi are included in the diets of smoky shrews . in captivity , the shrews also could eat salamanders and snails .
the fact that males lack a scrotum and the female ' s vagina is sealed , makes it difficult to determine the sex of shrew - moles that are not breeding without performing a dissection .
linzey , d . w . and a . v . linzey . 1973 . notes of food of small mammals from great smoky mountains national park , tennessee - north carolina . journal of the elisha mitchell scientific society 89 ( 1 and 2 ) : 6 - 14 .
doucet , g . j . and j . r . bider . 1974 . the effects of weather on the activity of the masked shrew . journal of mammalogy , 55 : 348 - 363 .
as the shrew - mole continues to dig through the soil , the amount of prey in the soil is significantly less than the amount present in soil that has not been dug through by them .
the coloration of smoky shrews is an identifying feature among similar species . in the summer months , the dorsal fur is brown , with a yellow tint , and the ventral fur is pale brown . their winter coat is dark gray on the dorsal side with silver hues on the ventral side . smoky shrews molt twice annually , once in preparation for winter and again in preparation for summer . the molt for winter happens in october for a thicker fur as well as a change of color to accommodate surroundings ; the other in preparation for summer happens in april or may for a thinner coat with brown fur . the tail of smoky shews is consistently bicolored , following the different hues among the months . the tail is a light brown with yellows hues in the summer months , and dark brown with silver hues in the winter months .
us forest service . influence of elevation and forest type on community assemblage and species distribution of shrews in the central and southern appalachian mountains . none . none provided : international society of shrew biologists . 2005 .
smoky shrews typically either take over other small mammals burrows to make use of them for themselves , or build rounded nests ca . 5 . 08 centimeters in diameter on the forest floor , often underneath forest debris . nests are built using various mammal hair and vegetative matter on sheltered forest floors .
jannett , f . j . , jr . , and r . j . oehlenschlager . 1994 . range extension and first minnesota records of the smokey shrew sorex fumeus . american midland naturalist 131 : 364 - 365 .
smoky shrews are constantly active through all hours of the day , and throughout the year . colder temperatures do not semm to be limiting , as they have been captured in the snow . these shrews typically are not social , but clustering of captures suggest that they might live in colonies . they do not migrate .
is found in western north america , from mid - california to lower british columbia . it ranges from the pacific ocean to the cascade and sierra nevada mountains . shrew - moles are also found on destruction island , washington ( campbell , 2001 ) .
do have an effect on controlling bark beetles and other harmful insects in their own habitats . but this is of minimal economic benefit , because most areas where the shrew - mole is found are bad sites for logging or farming ( dalquest , 1942 ) .
shrews tend to have short lifespans , and it is estimated that long - tailed shrew live up to two years in the wild . they are active both during the day and at night throughout the year . they are generally solitary animals and spend almost all of their time foraging .
prefer soils that are easy to dig , and where there is plenty of organic matter . they are mostly found in the temperate rainforests of northwest north america , where soils are soft and deep . shrew - moles can also be found in areas that are moist and weedy or brushy ( campbell , 2001 ) .
due to their small size and active lifestyles , long - tailed shrews need to eat almost constantly , often consuming twice their body weight in a day . above , a long - tailed shrew in woburn , mass . , on may 11 , 2014 . ( photo courtesy sylvia scharf under a cc by - nc license )
dalquest ( 1942 ) observed that if a shrew - mole is scared into hiding , it will reemerge in search of food in less than a minute . this makes them an easy target for predators , though they are not the major diet of any species ( racey , 1929 ) . owls seem to be their biggest predator ( carraway , 1991 ) .
the long - tailed shrew’s major predators include snakes , weasels , other small mammals and birds of prey . in order to avoid predators , long - tailed shrews tend to feed at night and remain under forest debris . since they are small and can be confused for mice , they also have a distinct musky odor that could serve as a deterrent for predators .
smoky shews are often found in higher elevations , typically above 700 m , in or around deciduous montane forests . at the southern edge of their geographic range , it ' s been reported that they exists at elevations as low as 300 m . they occur in a variety of forest types , on talus slopes , and occasionally some wetter areas ( bogs , swamps , bankside of rivers ) . however , although it appears that they are more abundant in moisture - rich forests , they are much less common ( or absent ) in seasonally or permanently inundated wetland habitats .
the shrew - mole also makes shallow surface runways by moving the front part of its body 45 degrees to the right and then to the left . then back again to the right , then left , and so on . when it moves to the right , the left forepaw is thrust up rapidly lifting soil in the process and when it moves to the left , the right forepaw is thrust up to lift soil .
food and feeding behavior : little information is available about the food preferences of the rock shrew , but what is known suggests a diet of insects , spiders , and centipedes . activity and movement : the seasonal and daily activity patterns are unknown . reproduction : only a handful of specimens offer clues about breeding habits . these indicate litter size may vary from 2 - 5 , and that the reproductive season extends from early spring , april or may , until late summer , through august .
shrew - mole has a relatively long breeding season . reproduction happens once a year and lasts from late february to august . the length of the gestation period is unknown , but is assumed to be at least four weeks long ( yates , 1982 ) . the nests are built above ground , although one nest was observed in a stump about a meter off the ground ( dalquest , 1942 ) . the babies are born blind and weigh less than a gram ( wilson and ruff , 1999 ) .
the masked shrew displays characters typical of all shrews . the slender , cylindrical body has a short , velvety , directionless fur . the long , tapered head ends in a flexible , tubular snout , with the narrow nostrils located on the outer edges of the tip . the small external ears are barely visible or are completely hidden by the fur . the eyes are tiny , the tail scantily haired , and the limbs short . all are features adapting shrews to a semi - fossorial life between the interface of soil particles and plant debris .
is the smallest species of new world talpidae ( wilson and ruff , 1999 ) . its hair is black or blue - black and not as plush as other moles ( dalquest , 1942 ) . shrew - moles ' forefeet are slightly broadened , not webbed and modified for digging only ( wilson and ruff , 1999 ) . the external ears are absent . eyes are greatly reduced , and these animals have a flat , elongated nose ( carraway , 1991 ) . the tail is about half as long as the body and reasonably wide ( reed , 1951 ) .
social system - the social behavior of all north american shrews is little known . a few causal observations of a male near a pregnant or lactating female suggest the masked shrew may be monogamous . studies completes in other parts of the species’ range indicate a home range of 0 . 2 - 0 . 6 ha ( 0 . 5 - 1 . 5 acre ) which overlap conspecifics . densities vary from 2 . 5 - 100 per ha ( 1 - 40 per acre ) with 3 - 25 per ha ( 1 - 10 per acre ) being more common , and may change dramatically from one year to the next within any particular area .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference ( book , 2005 ) [ worldcat . org ]
your web browser is not enabled for javascript . some features of worldcat will not be available .
your list has reached the maximum number of items . please create a new list with a new name ; move some items to a new or existing list ; or delete some items .
note : citations are based on reference standards . however , formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study . the specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher , classroom teacher , institution or organization should be applied .
the e - mail address ( es ) field is required . please enter recipient e - mail address ( es ) .
the e - mail address ( es ) you entered is ( are ) not in a valid format . please re - enter recipient e - mail address ( es ) .
i thought you might be interested in this item at urltoken title : mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference author : don e wilson ; deeann m reeder publisher : baltimore : johns hopkins university press , ©2005 . isbn / issn : 0801882214 9780801882210 0801882389 9780801882388 0801882397 9780801882395 oclc : 57557352
wilson and reeder ' s mammal species of the world is the classic reference book on the taxonomic classification and distribution of the more than 5400 species of mammals that exist today . the third edition includes detailed information on nomenclature and , for the first time , common names . each concise entry covers type locality , distribution , synonyms , and major reference sources . the systematic arrangement of
information indicates evolutionary relationships at both the ordinal and the family level . this indispensable reference work belongs in public and academic libraries throughout the world and on the shelf of every biologist who works with mammals .
- - publisher ' s website .
please choose whether or not you want other users to be able to see on your profile that this library is a favorite of yours .
this indispensable reference work belongs in public and academic libraries throughout the world and on the shelf of every biologist who works with mammals .
a uniquely valuable compendium of taxonomic and distributional data on the world ' s living and historically extinct mammalian species . contributors and editors alike deserve the thanks of all
add tags for
mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference
.
you may have already requested this item . please select ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway .
wilson and reeder ' s mammal species of the world is the classic reference book on the taxonomic classification and distribution of the more than 5400 species of mammals that exist today . the third edition includes detailed information on nomenclature and , for the first time , common names . each concise entry covers type locality , distribution , synonyms , and major reference sources . the systematic arrangement of information indicates evolutionary relationships at both the ordinal and the family level . this indispensable reference work belongs in public and academic libraries throughout the world and on the shelf of every biologist who works with mammals .
- - publisher ' s website .
worldcat is the world ' s largest library catalog , helping you find library materials online . learn more ››
don ' t have an account ? you can easily create a free account .
( cassola , 2016 ; hamed and laughlin , 2015 ; owen , 1984 ; felix , et al . , 2009 )
( cassola , 2016 ; choate , et al . , 1994 ; laerm , et al . , 2007 ; merritt , 1987 ; nowak , 1999 ; owen , 1984 ; webster , et al . , 2004 )
older shews tend to have fur with whiter tips . the younger shrews are distinguished from the older shrews not only because they are smaller , but also because they have long hairs on the tips of their tails that disappear once maturing to adults .
( best and dusi , 2014 ; choate , et al . , 1994 ; kurta , 1995 ; merritt , 1987 ; naughton , 2012 ; owen , 1984 )
( brown , 1997 ; elbroch and rinehart , 2011 ; laerm , et al . , 2007 ; merritt , 1987 ; naughton , 2012 ; owen , 1984 )
the mothers groom , nurse , and regurgitate food for their young . females take care of the young for up to a month after the young are fully weaned . young stay in the nest until the mother leaves to mate again . at this point , the young leave the nest to find new nesting sites . beyond mating , males have no parental investment .
are able to use echolocation to find objects up to 200 mm away . echolocation is especially helpful to shrews when they inhabit abandoned burrows , as it allows them to sense if the burrow is empty . it is also used to aid in finding protective cover when being pursued by a predator .
have been found to beat 800 - 1200 beats per minute . due to a high metabolism , shrews must feed day and night to support their appetites .
( choate , et al . , 1994 ; laerm , et al . , 2007 ; owen , 1984 ; sipe and browne , 2004 ; webster , et al . , 2004 ; whitaker jr . and hamilton jr . , 1998 )
( choate , et al . , 1994 ; clark , 2002 ; hamilton jr . , 1941 ; laerm , et al . , 2007 ; merritt , 1987 ; owen , 1984 )
( choate , et al . , 1994 ; laerm , et al . , 2007 ; merritt , 1987 ; owen , 1984 )
( dent , 2000 ; fryxell , et al . , 2014 ; whitaker jr . and hamilton jr . , 1998 )
makayla beckner ( author ) , radford university , karen powers ( editor ) , radford university , alex atwood ( editor ) , radford university , marisa dameron ( editor ) , radford university , tanya dewey ( editor ) , university of michigan - ann arbor .
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 .
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 .
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 .
a wetland area rich in accumulated plant material and with acidic soils surrounding a body of open water . bogs have a flora dominated by sedges , heaths , and sphagnum .
having markings , coloration , shapes , or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment ; being difficult to see or otherwise detect .
the process by which an animal locates itself with respect to other animals and objects by emitting sound waves and sensing the pattern of the reflected sound waves .
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 .
forest biomes are dominated by trees , otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality .
referring to a burrowing life - style or behavior , specialized for digging or burrowing .
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 ) .
this terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains , either without vegetation or covered by low , tundra - like vegetation .
the area in which the animal is naturally found , the region in which it is endemic .
a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water , often dominated by woody vegetation .
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 ) .
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female .
cassola , f . 2016 .
sorex fumeus
( on - line ) . iucn red list of threatened species 2016 : e . t41396a22312838 . accessed september 12 , 2016 at urltoken .
choate , j . , k . jones jr , c . jones . 1994 .
clark , r . 2002 . diet of the timber rattlesnake , crotalus horridus .
hamed , k . , t . laughlin . 2015 . small - mammal mortality caused by discarded bottles and cans along a us national forest service road in the cherokee national forest .
hamilton jr . , w . 1941 . the food of small forest mammals in eastern united states .
maier , t . , k . doyle . 2006 . aggregations of masked shrews ( sorex cinereus ) : density - related mating behavior ? .
merritt , j . , s . vessey . 2000 . shrews - small insectivores with polyphasic patterns . pp . 235 - 251 in s halle , n stenseth , eds .
, vol . 141 . new york , new york : springer - verlag berlin heidelberg .
to cite this page : beckner , m . 2017 .
sorex fumeus
( on - line ) , animal diversity web . accessed july 09 , 2018 at urltoken
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
biokids is sponsored in part by the interagency education research initiative . it is a partnership of the university of michigan school of education , university of michigan museum of zoology , and the detroit public schools . this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation under grant drl - 0628151 . copyright © 2002 - 2018 , the regents of the university of michigan . all rights reserved .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
urltoken
they eat leaf litter , insects , earthworms , centipedes , millipedes , snails and salamanders . because they travel in tunnels and runways created by moles and voles
search of their prey , they have a tendency to eat more worms than most shrews .
: cosby ccc camp ( 2 , 050 feet ) ; near cosby ranger station ( 2 , 500 feet ) ; indian camp creek trail ( 3 , 000 feet ) ; low gap ( 3 , 400 feet , 4 , 242 feet ) ; inadu knob ( 5 , 700 feet ) ; old black mountain ( 6 , 300 feet ) .
: foothills parkway ( 1 , 100 - 2 , 400 feet ) ; huskey gap trail ( 2 , 100 feet ) ; greenbrier ( 2 , 200 - 4 , 800 feet ) ; sugarland mountain ; newfound gap road ( 2 , 800 - 5 , 000 feet ) ; little river - elkmont ( 2 , 900 feet ) ; chimneys campground ; fort harry cliffs ( 3 , 200 feet ) ; eagle rocks creek ( 3 , 500 feet ) ; chapman prong ; grassy patch - alum cave parking areaa ( 4 , 000 feet ) ; west prong , little pigeon river ( 3 , 200 - 4 , 000 feet ) ; buck fork ( 4 , 200 - 5 , 000 feet ) ; walker prong ; rocky spring gap ; trillium gap trail ; indian gap ( 5 , 200 feet ) ; mt . guyot ( 6 , 300 feet ) .
: appalachian trail between low gap and mt . cammerer ( 4 , 700 feet ) ; dry sluice gap ; mt . kephart ; clingman ' s dome ( 6 , 400 feet ) .
: smokemont ; ekaneetlee creek ( 2 , 300 feet ) ; moore springs shelter ( 4 , 750 feet ) ; thomas ridge ( 4 , 800 feet ) ; newfound gap road ( 4 , 000 - 4 , 800 feet ) ; welch ridge ( 5 , 050 feet ) ; newfound gap ( 5 , 050 feet ) ; round bottom ( 5 , 400 feet ) ; hughes ridge ; forney ridge ( 6 , 000 feet , 6 , 400 feet ) .
streamsides , both in evergreen and deciduous forests , are favored . this species accouned for 12 . 6 % of all small mammals captured in a study in the spruce - fir forest (
two or three litters of 3 to 7 young are produced during the female ' s second year of life . the young are born in a nest of shredded vegetation located in a stump or beneath a log or rock .
pregnant and / or nursing females have been recorded in the park from march 30 through october 12 .
reproductively active
individuals were recorded for mid - august through september in the spruce - fir region (
stomach analyses of three females taken at 2 , 400 feet in cosby ( cocke co . ) during june and july revealed millipedes and arachnids comprising 98 . 6 % of the total volume of food (
the home range of shrews probably covers an area of 1 / 4 to 1 acre .
predators include snakes , owls , hawks , and carnivorous mammals such as opossums , foxes , bobcats , weasels , and skunks .
. blacksburg , virginia : the mcdonald & ; woodward publishing company , inc .
. mammalian species no . 215 : 1 - 8 . american society of mammalogists .
, and are active throughout the year , even in the coldest temperatures . as with other shrews , they echolocate , emitting a constant twittering sound as they forage .
miller , g . s . , jr . , 1895 . the long - tailed shrews of the eastern united states , p . 50 . north american fauna , 10 : 35 - 36 .
mammal species of the world ( opens in a new window ) . mammalian species , american society of mammalogists ' species account ( opens in a new window ) .
christian , d . p . , and j . m . daniels . 1985 . distributional records of rock voles , microtus chrotorrhinus , in northeastern minnesota . canadian field - naturalist 99 : 356 - 359 .
de vos , a . 1964 . range changes of mammals in the great lakes region . american midland naturalist 71 : 210 - 231 .
kuttner , b . g . , and j . r . malcom . 2001 . small mammal responses to clearcut logging in northeastern ontario . abstract of presentation given at symposium on old - growth forest in canada , october 2001 , sault ste . marie , ontario .
mcshea , w . j . , j . p . pagels , j . orrock , e . harper , and k . koy . 2003 . mesic deciduous forest as patches of small - mammal richness within an appalachian mountain forest . journal of mammalogy 84 : 627 - 643 .
timm , r . m . 1975 . distribution , natural history , and parasites of mammals of cook county , minnesota . bell museum of natural history occasional papers 14 . university of minnesota , minneapolis . 56 pp .
updated 5 / 15 / 2018 . information is summarized from mnfi ' s database of rare species and community occurrences . data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed .
this species inhabits northern hardwood and boreal forests with thick leaf litter over loosely packed soils . in michigan , it has only been documented on sugar island along the st . mary ' s river between ontario and mainland chippewa county . there it was found in a mesic northern forest dominated by sugar maple . in ontario , it is also known to inhabit ( but doesn ' t necessarily prefer ) cedar swamps , bogs , and other mixed coniferous forests with saturated soils .
for each species , lists of natural communities were derived from review of the nearly 6 , 500 element occurrences in the mnfi database , in addition to herbarium label data for some taxa . in most cases , at least one specimen record exists for each listed natural community . for certain taxa , especially poorly collected or extirpated species of prairie and savanna habitats , natural community lists were derived from inferences from collection sites and habitat preferences in immediately adjacent states ( particularly indiana and illinois ) . natural communities are not listed for those species documented only from altered or ruderal habitats in michigan , especially for taxa that occur in a variety of habitats outside of the state .
natural communities are not listed in order of frequency of occurrence , but are rather derived from the full set of natural communities , organized by ecological group . in many cases , the general habitat descriptions should provide greater clarity and direction to the surveyor . in future versions of the rare species explorer , we hope to incorporate natural community fidelity ranks for each taxon .
maintaining forest canopy cover and thick leaf litter would be beneficial to this species .
michigan natural features inventory . 2007 . rare species explorer ( web application ) . available online at urltoken [ accessed jul 9 , 2018 ]
baker , r . h . 1983 . michigan mammals . michigan state university press , east lansing .
kurta , a . 1995 . mammals of the great lakes region . the university of michigan press , ann arbor .
wilson , d . e . , f . r . cole , j . d . 1996 . measuring and monitoring biological diversity - standard methods for mammals . smithsonian institution press , washington d . c .
msu extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race , color , national origin , gender , religion , age , disability , political beliefs , sexual orientation , marital status or family status . .
a very small mammal with a cone - shaped nose , tiny eyes , cylindrical body , and short , slender legs . their short , dense fur is brownish in the summer and dark gray to blackish - gray in the winter ; belly is lighter in both coats . the long tail is distinctly bi - colored , grayish - brown above and yellowish or tan below .
consumes a wide variety of insects ; also eats spiders , earthworms , and centipedes .
mating season begins in march and by the end of the breeding season in october they can have up to 3 litters . nests of leaf litter are constructed in hollow logs or under rocks prior to the birth of the blind and furless young . females deliver 2 - 8 ( average 6 ) young after a gestation period of less than 3 weeks . the pair mates again as soon as the first litter is born .
best places to see in tennessee : moist woods with deep leaf litter and moss - covered rocks in the appalachian mountains . for more information : sources : owens , j . g . 1984 . sorex fumeus . mammalian species , 215 : 1 - 8 . whitaker , jr . , j . o . 1980 . the audubon society field guide to north american mammals . alfred a . knopf , inc . , new york .
cookie policy : we use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website . if you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with these terms .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
urltoken
mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference , 3rd ed . , vols . 1 & 2
disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
in nc , it ranges throughout the mountains , but is absent farther to the east . unlike most northern shrews , it occurs only in the northeastern states and adjacent canada , south in the appalachians to northern ga .
common to very common within its range in the state , and not seemingly local .
favors cool coniferous or mixed forests , at mid - to high elevations , such as spruce - fir , spruce - hardwoods , and hemlock - hardwoods . areas with moss , logs , and rocks are favored within the habitat .
nc map map depicts all counties with a report ( transient or resident ) for the species .
click on county for list of all database records for species in that county .
in : trani , margaret k . ; ford , w . mark ; chapman , brian r . , eds . the land manager ' s guide to mammals of the south . durham , nc : the nature conservancy ; atlanta , ga : u . s . forest service : 95 - 98 .
note : this article is part of a larger document . view the larger document
check the northern research station web site to request a printed copy of this publication .
please contact sharon hobrla , shobrla @ urltoken if you notice any errors which make this publication unusable .
we recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article , to retain the full citation information .
this article was written and prepared by u . s . government employees on official time , and is therefore in the public domain .
from : saunders , d . a . 1988 . adirondack mammals . state university of new york , college of environmental science and forestry . 216pp .
this slender - bodied , slate gray insectivore named for its long tail or habitat , depending on which common name one chooses , holds center stage among some small mammal specialists . entire chapters of its basic life history remain unknown . the sketchy information that is available results from several hundred trapped specimens .
social behavior : the behavioral ecology , social organization , mating system , and means of communication are unknown , but are likely to exhibit some unique specializations for a life among dark , damp stones .