Sorex arcticus Kerr 1792
26. Arctic Shrew Sorex arcticus French: Musaraigne nordique / German: Arktische Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafa del Artico Other common names: Black-backed Shrew, Saddle-back Shrew Taxonomy. Sorex arcticus Kerr, 1792, “ Hudson Bay ” Ontario, Canada. Sorex arcticus is currently included in the arcticus...
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| Format: | Other/Unknown Material |
| Language: | unknown |
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Lynx Edicions
2018
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| Online Access: | https://zenodo.org/record/6869629 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869629 |
| Summary: | 26. Arctic Shrew Sorex arcticus French: Musaraigne nordique / German: Arktische Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarafa del Artico Other common names: Black-backed Shrew, Saddle-back Shrew Taxonomy. Sorex arcticus Kerr, 1792, “ Hudson Bay ” Ontario, Canada. Sorex arcticus is currently included in the arcticus group in the subgenus Sorex along with S. maritimensis, which was originally included in S. arcticus as a subspecies. Additional research is needed to validate subspecies. Two subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. S.a.arcticusKerr,1792—Canada,fromCYukonEtoEQuebecandStoNWNorthDakota,USA. S. a. laricorum H. H. T. Jackson, 1925 — NC USA (most of North Dakota, NE South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and NW Michigan). Descriptive notes. Head—body 68-89 mm, tail 36-48 mm, ear 7-8 mm, hindfoot 13— 16 mm; weight 5-13 g. The Arctic Shrew is medium-sized. Pelageis tricolored, being dark brown to black on back, pale dusky brown on sides, and whitish on belly; dorsum, sides, and venter are sharply demarcated from each other. Pelage is paler in summer and darker and thicker in winter. Feet are dark; ears are short and barely extend past fur. Tail is ¢.50% of head-body length and indistinctly bicolored, being dark brown above and lighter below.Juveniles are significantly darker, with brown venter and sides. Tooth ridges (except for on unicuspids as in other members of the subgenus Sorex) are pigmented dark red, and there are five unicuspids gradually getting smaller from first to fifth, which is significantly smaller than the fourth. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 28 (females) or 29 (males) and FN = 38. Habitat. Grass-sedge marshes, wet meadows, and various other moist areas in boreal forests; less common butstill present in tamarack-spruce bogs and cedar swamps. The Arctic Shrew seems to compete with the Masked Shrew (S. cinereus) where they are sympatric, and as the population of one species increases, the other decreases. Food and Feeding. Diets of Arctic Shrews consist almost exclusively of various insects, but ... |
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