62.

Maryland Shrew

Sorex fontinalis

French: Musaraigne du Maryland / German: Maryland-Spitzmaus / Spanish: Musarana de Maryland

Other common names: Eastern Shrew

Taxonomy. Sorex fontinalis Hollister, 1911,

“ Cold Spring Swamp, near Beltsville [Prince George Co.], Maryland,” USA.

Sorex fontinalis is in the S. cinereus group and subgenus Otisorex. Sorex fontinalis has variously been included in S. cinereus as a subspecies, although it does seem to over-lap in distribution without interbreeding. Morphologically, S. fontinalis is nearly identical to S. cinereus, and genetic data are needed to determine if S. fontinalis is really a distinct species or a subspecies of S. cinereus . Sorex fontinalis could be hybrid between S. cinereus and S. longirostris, although this has not been studied. Sorex fontinalis is retained as a distinct species here due to uncertain taxonomic relationships. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Pennsylvania, extreme W New Jersey, NE West Virginia, N Maryland and N Delaware (NE USA).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 51-58 mm, tail 27-39 mm, hindfoot 10-13 mm; weight 2:3-4-5 g. The Maryland Shrew is small, externally similar to the Masked Shrew (S. ¢inereus), but it is significantly smaller with shortertail, shorter skull, shorter and broader rostrum, and shorter unicuspid tooth row, making it somewhat more similar to the South-eastern Shrew ( S. longirostris). Dorsum of the Maryland Shrew is dark brown, and venteris significantly lighter grayish brown. Tail is relatively short compared with related species (c.65% of head-body length), narrow, and distinctly bicolored, being dark brown above and lighter below. Teeth are pigmented dark red. There are five unicuspids,first four are about the same size, becoming slightly smaller from first to fourth, and fifth is significantly smaller but still visible in tooth row.

Habitat. Mature lowland forest, mid-slope oak forest, ridge oak and black gum forest, and oak regrowth from clearing. The Maryland Shrew has also been collected in meadows, hedgerows, and other forest types.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List. The Maryland Shrew has a very small distribution, and there is uncertainty about whetherit should be recognized as a species or not. Additional research is needed to thoroughly assess its conservation status, although it seems to be tolerant to human activity.

Bibliography. George (1988), Kirkland (1977a, 1985), Whitaker & Hamilton (1998), van Zyll de Jong & Kirkland (1989).