Sorex

Shrew ( Sorex araneus )

The genus of Rotzahnspitzmäuse ( Sorex ) is a mammalian genus from the family of shrews ( Soricidae ). In a broader sense, the subfamily of Soricinae so designated. It includes some 80 species, several of which are also common in Europe.

Features

Rotzahnspitzmäuse reach a body length 46-100 mm, which must be added 25-82 mm tail come. Your weight is between 2 and 18 grams. The fur color varies from beige to black and can also be patterned. The eyes are small, the ears grow barely out of his fur. The tail is often glabrous in adult animals. Your 30 to 32 teeth have red tips.

Distribution and habitat

Rotzahnspitzmäuse live in Europe, in the northern and central parts of Asia as well as North and Central America ( Guatemala to ). They inhabit a variety of habitats, but prefer moist areas.

Way of life

Rotzahnspitzmäuse feed primarily on insects, spiders, worms and snails and are characterized by a high metabolic rate. They are very prolific, the female can several times a year after a gestation period of a few weeks to bring up to ten pups.

Threat

Several species are listed by the IUCN due to destruction of their habitat or their small distribution area as endangered or threatened. Two species, S. and S. cansulus kozlovi, apply immediately as threatened with extinction ( critically endangered ), twelve more as threatened or endangered.

The types

Several species live in Central Europe, these are:

• The Alpine shrew ( S. alpinus ),
• The shrew ( S. araneus )
• The pygmy shrew ( S. minutus )
• The pelmet shrew ( S. coronatus ) and
• Sorex antinorii ( in Italy and southern Switzerland ).

In southern Europe, the Iberian shrew ( S. granarius ), the Italian shrew ( S. Samniticus ) and the newly discovered species Sorex arunchi occur. In northern and eastern Europe, the tot shrew ( S. minutissimus ), the Lapland or mask shrew ( S. caecutiens ), the taiga shrew ( S. isodon ), pp. tundrensis, S. and S. averini live beyond volnuchini.

Among the best known North American species include the American pygmy shrew ( S. hoyi ), the American mask shrew ( S. cinereus ), the long-tailed shrew ( S. dispar ) and the American water shrew ( S. palustris)

A total of nearly 80 species can be distinguished, with the systematics of some species and the classification is not yet fully understood in subgenera. The following list follows Wilson & Reeder (2005) and classified according to the types of the scientific name:

• Sorex alaskanus inhabited northern North America.
• The Alpine shrew ( Sorex alpinus ) lives in mountains of Europe from the Pyrenees to the Carpathians.
• Sorex antinorii is located in Italy and southern Switzerland.
• The shrew ( Sorex araneus ) is widespread in Europe and western Asia.
• Sorex arcticus inhabits the northern North America.
• Sorex arizonae lives in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
• Sorex arunchi from Italy described science in 1998.
• Sorex asper is located in Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang.
• Sorex averini from Eastern Europe has been attributed to the earlier shrew.
• Sorex bairdii is endemic in Oregon.
• Sorex bedfordiae lives in China and neighboring Himalayan regions.
• Sorex bendirii is common on the Pacific coast of North America.
• Sorex buchariensis lives in Tajikistan.
• The Lapland or mask shrew ( S. caecutiens ) inhabited tundra and taiga regions of Eastern Europe to Japan.
• Sorex camtschatica lives on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• Sorex cansulus is only three specimens from Gansu (China) known. The species is threatened with extinction ( critically endangered ).
• The American mask shrew ( S. cinereus ) lives in Alaska, Canada and the northern United States.
• The pelmet shrew ( S. coronatus ) is located in Western Europe.
• Sorex cylindricauda lives in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The species is considered threatened ( endangered ).
• Sorex daphaenodon is widespread in Siberia, Mongolia and Manchuria.
• The long-tailed shrew ( S. dispar ) inhabits eastern North America.
• Sorex emarginatus lives in Mexico.
• Sorex excelsus is located in middle China.
• Sorex fontinalis is widespread in the eastern United States.
• Sorex fumeus lives in Southeastern Canada and the Northeastern United States.
• Sorex gaspensis inhabited southeastern Canada.
• Sorex gracilimus is widespread in Southeast Russia, Manchuria and Hokkaido.
• The Iberian shrew ( S. granarius ) inhabited the Iberian Peninsula.
• Sorex haydeni is distributed from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Iowa and Kansas.
• Sorex hosonoi is endemic on the island of Honshu (Japan).
• The American pygmy shrew ( S. hoyi ) inhabited large parts of North America.
• The taiga shrew ( S. isodon ) is native to northern Eurasia.
• The St. Lawrence Rotzahnspitzmaus ( S. jacksoni ) is endemic to the Saint- Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. The species is considered threatened ( endangered ).
• Sorex kozlovi lives only in Tibet. The species is threatened with extinction ( critically endangered ).
• Sorex leucogaster is endemic to the Kurileninsel Paramushir.
• Sorex longirostris inhabited the southeastern United States.
• Sorex lyelli occurs only in eastern California.
• Sorex macrodon lives in eastern Mexico.
• Sorex maritimensis is widespread in Southeast Canada.
• Sorex merriami inhabits the western United States.
• Sorex milleri lives in northeastern Mexico.
• The tot shrew ( S. minutissimus ) inhabits the northern taiga of Europe and Asia.
• The pygmy shrew ( S. minutus) is spread from Europe to central Asia.
• Sorex mirabilis lives in Southeastern Russia and North Korea.
• The Dark Rotzahnspitzmaus (p. monticolus ) is widespread throughout western North America.
• Sorex nanus lives in the Midwest.
• Sorex neomexicanus occurs only in New Mexico.
• Sorex oreopolus lives in the central Mexico.
• Sorex orizabae also inhabited Mexico.
• The Beautifully shrew ( S. ornatus ) lives in California and Baja California. Sorex ornatus juncensis is probably extinct. This subspecies lived in Lower California.