Sorex mirabilis Ognev 1937
Creators: name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
name: Wilson, Don E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Soricomorpha
Soricidae
Sorex
Sorex mirabilis
Sorex mwrabilis

description: 2. Ussuri Shrew <i>Sorex mwrabilis</i> <b>French:</b> Musaraigne de I'Oussouri / <b>German:</b> Ussuri-Spitzmaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Musarana de Ussuri <b>Other common names:</b> Giant Shrew <b>Taxonomy.</b> Sorex mirabilis Ognev, 1937, Russian Far East (Primorsky Krai, Valley of Kishinka River), Russia. Sorex mirabilis lacks related species based on mtDNA and nDNA analyses. It is an ancient relict species, and S. alpinus is its closest relative based on several morphological characteristics, including structure of glans penis. Two subspecies recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> S.m.mirabilisOgnev,1937—SRussianFarEast(PrimorskyKrai). S. m. kutcheruki Stroganov, 1956 — Korean Peninsula. Also present in NE China (Heilongjiang andJilin), but subspecies involved not known. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 74-97 mm,tail 63-72 mm, hindfoot 16-18 mm; weight 11-14-2 g. The Ussuri Shrew is the largest of all Palearctic red-toothed shrews. Tail reaches 85% of head—body length. Tail is unicolored, with dramatic hair loss by early winter. Pelage is unicolor, varying from dim gray in juveniles to brown tinted smoky gray in adults. Belly is sometimes lighter than dorsum. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 38 and FN = 66. X-chromosome and Y-chromosome are subtelocentric. <b>Habitat.</b> Exclusively primary broad-leaved and mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forests. The Ussuri Shrew avoids secondary forests and other habitats with low tree densities. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Ussuri Shrew can eat up to 28-7 g of food/day, or twice its body weight. Earthworms are a basic component of the diet and account for more than 80% of the total food consumed. Myriapods, lamellicorn beetle larvae, and vegetable-eating millipedes were found in gastric contents, being absent from diets of other shrew species. <b>Breeding.</b> Breeding season of the Ussuri Shrew lasts from June to the first one-half of October. A female has at least two litters/season; cases of female young-of-the-year reproducing are unknown. Oddly, not a single adult male has been captured since studies of the Ussuri Shrew began. There are only 2-4 embryos/pregnant female, and embryo resorption is a common event. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Periods of rest and activity alternate many times during the day, as in most species of shrews. The Ussuri Shrew differs from other species of shrews in being especially active at night, especially in the second one-half of the night. The Ussuri Shrew is a good digger and spends a lot of time in lower layers of the soil horizon. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Ussuri Shrews are solitary. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The Ussuri Shrew is vulnerable on the China Red List and the Red List of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The Ussuri Shrew is the least abundant of the Palearctic shrews; no more than 50 individuals have been captured since studies began. <b>Bibliography.</b> Han Sang-Hoon et al. (2000), Hoffmann &amp; Lunde (2008), Ivanitskaya et al. (1986), Nesterenko (1999), Okhotina (1974, 1984), Won Chang-Man &amp; Smith (1999).
description: Published as part of <i>Russell A. Mittermeier &amp; Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, pp. 332-551 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 395, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6870843