Sorex preblei, Jackson, 1922

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Soricidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 332-551 : 417

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6870843

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6869722

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3D474A54-A030-875C-FAF9-AE24142DF3F5

treatment provided by

Felipe (2022-07-20 16:46:36, last updated 2024-11-29 14:43:11)

scientific name

Sorex preblei
status

 

66. View Plate 15: Soricidae

Preble’s Shrew

Sorex preblei View in CoL

French: Musaraigne de Preble / German: Preble-Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Preble

Other common names: Malheur Shrew

Taxonomy. Sorex preblei H. H. T. Jackson, 1922 View in CoL ,

“ Jordan Valley , altitude 4,200 feet [= 1280 m], Malheur County, Oregon,” USA .

Sorex preblei is in the S. cinereus group and subgenus Otisorex. It seems to be sister to a clade including the Beringian clade, S. haydeni , and the south-western lineage in S. cinereus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Known from scattered records in the Columbia Plateau and N Great Plains of SC British Columbia (SE Canada), N & SE Washington, Oregon, WC Idaho, Montana, NE California, N Nevada, W Wyoming, and N Utah, although these populations are probably connected and additional collecting efforts are needed. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-57 mm, tail 28-38 mm, hindfoot 9-11 mm; weight 2-4 g. Preble’s Shrew is very small. Dorsum is grayish brown, with paler sides, and venteris silvery white. Feet are pale buffy, and tail is comparatively short, narrow, and bicolored, being brown above and whitish below. I' has deep interdenticular space. Teeth are pigmented dark red. There are five unicuspids, fifth is the smallest, and third is generally greater than or equal to fourth.

Habitat. Primarily arid sagebrush and sagebrush-steppe habitats but also conifer forests, dry bunchgrass habitats, other grassland habitats, and near marshes and wetlands at elevations of 1280-2750 m. Although primarily collected in sagebrush habitats, Preble’s Shrew is probably associated with dry open habitats in general.

Food and Feeding. Diet of Preble’s Shrew probably consists of soft-bodied invertebrates.

Breeding. Pregnant females and reproductive males have been captured in June-July in Oregon. Litters have 3-6 young (average 4-4). Female Preble’s Shrews probably have multiple litters each year.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Preble’s Shrew is rarely collected and known from relatively few scattered specimens over a wide distribution, which might be much larger and more connected than what is currently known; collecting efforts using pitfall traps are needed. Fossils are known from the Pleistocene of southern New Mexico.

Bibliography. Carraway (1995), Carraway & Verts (1999), Cassola (2016q), Cornely et al. (1992), Demboski & Cook (2003), Gitzen et al. (2009), Hoffmann & Fisher (1978), Hoffmann et al. (1969), Hope et al. (2012), Junge & Hoffmann (1981), Long & Hoffmann (1992), Nagorsen et al. (2001), Ports & George (1990), Tomasi & Hoffmann (1984), Williams (1984).

Gallery Image

0. Radde’s Shrew (Sorex raddei), 1. Alpine Shrew (Sorex alpinus), 2. Ussuri Shrew (Sorex mwrabilis), 3. Chinese Highland Shrew (Sorex excelsus), 4. Greater Striped Shrew (Sorex cylindricauda), 5. Lesser Striped Shrew (Sorex bedfordiae), 7. Flat-skulled Shrew (Sorex roboratus), 8. Eurasian Least Shrew (Sorex munutissimus), 9. Azumi Shrew (Sorex hosonoi), 10. Slender Shrew (Sorex gracillimus), 11. Laxmann’s Shrew (Sorex caecutiens), 12. Shinto Shrew (Sorex shinto), 13. Taiga Shrew (Sorex isodon), 14. Long-clawed Shrew (Sorex unguiculatus), 15. Chinese Shrew (Sorex sinalis), 16. Common Shrew (Sorex araneus), 17. Iberian Shrew (Sorex granarius), 18. Valais Shrew (Sorex antinorn), 19. Crowned Shrew (Sorex coronatus), 20. Caucasian Shrew (Sorex satunin), 21. Siberian Large-toothed Shrew (Sorex daphaenodon), 22. Gansu Shrew (Sorex cansulus), 23. Tundra Shrew (Sorex tundrensis), 24. Tian Shan Shrew (Sorex asper), 25. Apennine Shrew (Sorex samniticus), 26. Arctic Shrew (Sorex arcticus), 27. Maritime Shrew (Sorex maritimensis), 28. Eurasian Pygmy Shrew (Sorex minutus), 29. Caucasian Pygmy Shrew (Sorex volnuchini), 30. Buchara Shrew (Sorex buchariensis), 31. Tibetan Shrew (Sorex thibetanus), 32. Kashmir Shrew (Sorex planiceps), 33. Trowbridge’s Shrew (Sorex trowbridgu), 34. Arizona Shrew (Sorex arizonae), 35. Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami), 36. Alto Shrew (Sorex altoensis), 37. Jalisco Shrew (Sorex mediopua), 38. Saussure’s Shrew (Sorex saussurei), 39. San Cristobal Shrew (Sorex cristobalensis), 40. McCarthy's Shrew (Sorex mccarthyi), 41. Salvin’s Shrew (Sorex salvini), 42. Sclater’s Shrew (Sorex sclateri), 43. Pale-toothed Shrew (Sorex stizodon)

Gallery Image

Distribution. Known from scattered records in the Columbia Plateau and N Great Plains of SC British Columbia (SE Canada), N & SE Washington, Oregon, WC Idaho, Montana, NE California, N Nevada, W Wyoming, and N Utah, although these populations are probably connected and additional collecting efforts are needed.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Soricomorpha

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Sorex