Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew
Encyclopedia
Elliot's short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga) is a small, slate grey, short-tailed species of shrew
. Its common name comes from Daniel Giraud Elliot
, who first described the species in 1899.
, although slightly larger on average, and was long thought to belong to the same species. It is a heavily built shrew with short legs and tail, and a long, pointed snout with long whisker
s. The ears and eyes are both small, the eyelids being permanently closed in some individuals, a feature otherwise unknown among shrews.
The fur is velvety in texture, and uniformly colored greyish to brown. Adults range from 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 ) in total length, including the 2 to 3 cm (0.78740157480315 to 1.2 ) tail, and weigh 13 to 16 g (0.458561507366456 to 0.564383393681791 ).
and Nebraska
in the north to parts of Texas
and northern Louisiana
in the south, including much of the states of Missouri
, Kansas
, Oklahoma
, and Arkansas
, and the northeastern corner of Colorado
. Two subspecies are currently recognised:
The species inhabits a diverse range of habitats, including grasslands, agricultural land, and woodland. Although it generally prefers well watered environments with plenty of ground litter, it is also known from relatively dry and sandy terrain in Texas and Colorado, often with minimal ground cover.
, its diet consisting primarily of beetles and slugs, along with other insects, spiders, and earthworms. They may also eat a small quantity of plants and fungi, and have been reported to eat North American deermice
on occasion. Predators include owls, hawks, snakes, and swift fox
es.
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is generally a solitary, nocturnal animal, spending the day sleeping in burrows in soft soil or leaf litter. The burrows may contain nests made from grass or leaves, and are surrounded by a network of trackways that the shrew uses while hunting for prey. They have been reported to travel across home ranges of anything from 0.06 to 0.55 ha (0.148263097809166 to 1.4 ), and to travel mostly around dawn and sunset. Having poor eyesight, they hunt primarily by means of echolocation
. They are active throughout the year, and do not hibernate.
has been ambiguous, with some studies placing it as the closest relative to the southern short-tailed shrew, and others showing it as being basal to the other species. The oldest fossils of the species date from the last Ice Age
, and the two subspecies may have diverged as recently as one thousand years ago.
Shrew
A shrew or shrew mouse is a small molelike mammal classified in the order Soricomorpha. True shrews are also not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.Although its external appearance is generally that of...
. Its common name comes from Daniel Giraud Elliot
Daniel Giraud Elliot
Daniel Giraud Elliot was an American zoologist.Elliot was one of the founders of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the American Ornithologists' Union. He was also curator of zoology at the Field Museum in Chicago.Elliot used his wealth to publish a series of sumptuous...
, who first described the species in 1899.
Description
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is similar in appearance to the closely related southern short-tailed shrewSouthern Short-tailed Shrew
The Southern Short-tailed Shrew is a small, gray, short-tailed mammal that inhabits the eastern United States. The overall appearance is somewhat like a rodent, but is a member of the order Soricomorpha and should not be confused with a member of the order Rodentia. This shrew has a long, pointed...
, although slightly larger on average, and was long thought to belong to the same species. It is a heavily built shrew with short legs and tail, and a long, pointed snout with long whisker
Vibrissae
Vibrissae , or whiskers, are specialized hairs usually employed for tactile sensation. The term may also refer to the thick hairs found inside human nostrils, but these have no sensorial function and only operate as an airborne particulate barrier...
s. The ears and eyes are both small, the eyelids being permanently closed in some individuals, a feature otherwise unknown among shrews.
The fur is velvety in texture, and uniformly colored greyish to brown. Adults range from 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 ) in total length, including the 2 to 3 cm (0.78740157480315 to 1.2 ) tail, and weigh 13 to 16 g (0.458561507366456 to 0.564383393681791 ).
Distribution and habitat
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is found in lowland environments with heavy vegetation from southern IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
in the north to parts of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and northern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in the south, including much of the states of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and the northeastern corner of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Two subspecies are currently recognised:
- Blarina hylophaga hylophaga - throughout most of range
- Blarina hylophaga plumbea - Texas
The species inhabits a diverse range of habitats, including grasslands, agricultural land, and woodland. Although it generally prefers well watered environments with plenty of ground litter, it is also known from relatively dry and sandy terrain in Texas and Colorado, often with minimal ground cover.
Behavior and diet
Like other shrews, this species is insectivorousInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
, its diet consisting primarily of beetles and slugs, along with other insects, spiders, and earthworms. They may also eat a small quantity of plants and fungi, and have been reported to eat North American deermice
Peromyscus maniculatus
Peromyscus maniculatus is a rodent native to North America. It is most commonly called the Deer Mouse, although that name is common to most species of Peromyscus and is fairly widespread across the continent, with the major exception being the southeast United States and the far north.Like other...
on occasion. Predators include owls, hawks, snakes, and swift fox
Swift Fox
The swift fox is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. It also lives in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated...
es.
Elliot's short-tailed shrew is generally a solitary, nocturnal animal, spending the day sleeping in burrows in soft soil or leaf litter. The burrows may contain nests made from grass or leaves, and are surrounded by a network of trackways that the shrew uses while hunting for prey. They have been reported to travel across home ranges of anything from 0.06 to 0.55 ha (0.148263097809166 to 1.4 ), and to travel mostly around dawn and sunset. Having poor eyesight, they hunt primarily by means of echolocation
Animal echolocation
Echolocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
. They are active throughout the year, and do not hibernate.
Reproduction
The shrew breeds from early spring to late summer, and may be able to raise two or three litters per in a year. Gestation lasts 21 or 22 days, and results in the birth of four to seven hairless young. The young are weaned, with a full coat of fuzzy hair, by one month of age, not receiving the adult coat until they have reached adult size. Individuals can live for up to two years.Taxonomy and evolution
Elliot's short-tailed shrew was originally described as a subspecies of Blarina brevicauda, and was only identified as a separate species in 1981. Genetic analysis to determine its precise relationship to other members of the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
has been ambiguous, with some studies placing it as the closest relative to the southern short-tailed shrew, and others showing it as being basal to the other species. The oldest fossils of the species date from the last Ice Age
Wisconsinan glaciation
The Wisconsin Glacial Episode was the most recent major advance of the North American Laurentide ice sheet. Globally, this advance is known as the last glacial period. The Wisconsin glaciation extended from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago, between the Eemian interglacial and the current...
, and the two subspecies may have diverged as recently as one thousand years ago.