Mist shrew
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| Sorex sonomae | ||||||||||||
| Jackson , 1921 |
The fog shrew ( Sorex sonomae ) is a large species in the genus of the red-toothed shrews . It occurs in western North America. The name refers to the area where fog often occurs. The species is listed as not endangered by the IUCN .
features
This shrew reaches a total length of 120 to 158 mm, including a 45 to 65 mm long tail. It has rear feet 13 to 18 mm long and ears 7 to 8 mm long. The weight is 14 to 18 g. The nominate form S. s. sonomae has light to dark brown fur on top, sometimes with a reddish shade, while the underside is covered in darker brown fur. The tail of this subspecies is uniformly colored like the back. At S. s. tenelliodus , on the other hand, the top is brown to gray-brown and the bottom is light pink. The tail of this subspecies is also divided into a brown top and a pink bottom.
Like other generic representatives, the fog shrew has five single-pointed teeth (unicuspids) on each side of the upper jaw between the incisor and the individual pre- molar teeth. Of these, the first two are the longest, the fourth a little shorter and the third even shorter. The fifth represents only a small rectangular stump, which is separated from the fourth by a gap ( diastema ).
distribution
The range of the species is on the Pacific in the US states California and Oregon . The subspecies S. s. tenelliodus is restricted to the northern and eastern borders of the Oregon area. Moist coniferous forests, the chaparral vegetation type and salt marshes serve as habitats .
Way of life
In females there are probably several litters between March and September. 3 to 5 young animals are born per litter. The fog shrew eats various invertebrates such as snails, spiders and insects. Plants, especially seeds, play a subordinate role with around 4.1%, while fungi make up 3.7% of the food spectrum. The fog shrew locates prey living on the ground with the help of its sense of smell, whereas prey in flight uses its sense of sight. The animals either consume their prey immediately or bring it to the nest, where it is sometimes kept in a stunned state. Exceptions are dangerous prey such as stinging invertebrates, which are killed immediately. The fog shrew tends to be nocturnal and does not hibernate. Captive specimens built nests from plant parts and established special defecation sites .
Systematics
The fog shrew was first scientifically described by Hartley HT Jackson in 1921 , Hartley introduced it under the name Sorex pacificus sonomae as a subspecies of the Pacific shrew ( Sorex pacificus ). The holotype comprises a 133 mm long adult male that was collected by Alfred C. Shelton on the Gualala River in Sonoma County , California , in early June 1913 . It was not until 1990 that Leslie N. Carraway raised the fog shrew to the status of the species. Both the Pacific and the fog shrew differ from other red-toothed shrews in the region by the structure of the two inner, double-pointed incisors, which are close together and are not fork-like separated by a gap.
swell
- Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . A taxonomic and geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 2 volumes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Sorex sonomae ).
- Williams Jameson, Hans J. Peeters (Eds.): Mammals of California . University of California Press, 2004, ISBN 0-520-23582-7 , pp. 119-120 (English, Sorex sonomae ).
- BJ Verts, Leslie N. Carraway (Eds.): Land Mammals of Oregon . University of California Press, 1998, ISBN 0-520-21199-5 , pp. 58-60 (English, Sorex sonomae ).
- Sorex sonomae in endangered species red list of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: NatureServe (Hammerson, G.), 2008. Accessed January 17, 2017th
- Fog Shrew , Smithsonian Institution
- Hartley HT Jackson: Two unrecognized shrews from California. Journal of Mammalogy 2, 1921, pp. 161-162 ( [1] )