Short Tailed Shrew

Short-tailed shrew, (genus Blarina), any of three species of North American insectivores that resemble voles in body form. All have minute, degenerate eyes and small ears concealed in the fur. Within the moderately long and pointed muzzle are reddish-tipped teeth. Blarina species are among the largest North American shrews, weighing up to 30 grams (1.1 ounces), with a body 8 to 11 cm (3 to 4 inches) long. The dense, soft, and velvety fur is brownish gray, slate, or black on the upperparts and slightly paler on the underparts. The short, furred tail and feet are gray. The coat is glossy.
Active all year, day or night, short-tailed shrews forage in leaf litter and fallen grass for invertebrates (primarily earthworms, slugs, snails, and insects), and they pursue small salamanders, reptiles, and mice. Their saliva contains a neurotoxin and a hemotoxin that are introduced into a wound by chewing. These toxins are used primarily to immobilize mice and invertebrates, especially snails, which are stored for later use. Their diet also includes roots, beechnuts, berries, sunflower seeds, and fungi. Voracious eaters, short-tailed shrews consume about half their weight each day and must also drink frequently. Short-tailed shrews range from southern Canada through the north-central and northeastern United States to eastern Texas and Florida. They inhabit environments with tall or dense grass in the western portion of the range, hardwood and coniferous forest in the east, and palmetto groves along the Gulf of Mexico. Habitat must provide plenty of cover, and the soil must be well drained but retain enough moisture to keep the burrows humid.
The three species in the genus Blarina are the northern (B. brevicauda), the southern (B. carolinensis), and Elliot’s (B. hylophaga) short-tailed shrew. Blarina is one of many genera classified with “true shrews” of the family Soricidae in the order Soricimorpha, which belongs to a larger group of mammals referred to as insectivores. Their evolutionary history extends back to the late Pliocene Epoch (3.6 to 2.6 million years ago) of North America.
Category:Mammals
Category:Shrews
Category:Wildlife