| Least Shrews have a repertoire of tiny calls, audible to human ears up to a distance of only 20 inches or so. Nests are of leaves or grasses in some hidden place, such as on the ground under a cabbage palm leaf or in brush. Weighing in at only a few grams, this shrew is remarkably adaptable, as its extensive north to south distribution attests. From southern New England to northern Panama, the Least Shrew inhabits grassy fields, marshes, and woodland habitats.
Also known as:
Small Short-tailed Shrew, Little Short-tailed Shrew, Bee Shrew
Sexual Dimorphism:
None
Length:
Average:
75 mm
Range:
61-89 mm
Weight:
Range:
3-10 g
References:
Say, T., 1823. in Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains : performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of the Hon. J.C. Calhoun, sec’y of war, under the command of Major Stephen H. Long : from the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party compiled by Edwin James, botanist and geologist for the expedition; in two vols., H.C. Carey and I. Lea, Philadelphia,1822-23. Vol 1, p 163.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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Cryptotis parva - winter
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