New York State Mammals

Morphology

Ecology

Identification

Classification

Distribution

ORDER: Didelphimorphia

FAMILY: Didelphidae

• Marsupial

– Only marsupial north of Mexico

Common Name: Virginia opossum

Scientific Name: (Didelphis virginiana)

Virginia opossum

(Didelphis virginiana)

• Habitat: woodlots, suburban, urban

• Omnivorous

• “Plays opossum”

• Plays dead to avoid threatening

situations

• Naked prehensile tail

• Fur gray-silver, white on head

• 13 nipples within pouch

• Skull contains 50 teeth

I 5/4 C 1/1 P 3/3 M 4/4

ORDER: Soricomorpha

FAMILIES:

Soricidae

Talpidae

Shrew or Mole?

thin (weak) zygomatic arch lack of zygomatic arch

FAMILY: SORICIDAE “red-toothed shrews”

– Pigmented teeth

– Smallest mammals in the world

– Mainly insectivorous

– Largest/most widely distributed family of insectivores

– Extremely high metabolism

– Most have musk glands

FAMILY: SORICIDAE

• Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus)*

• Pygmy Shrew (Sorex hoyi)

• Long-tailed Shrew (Sorex dispar)

• Smoky Shrew (Sorex fumeus)*

• N. Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda)*

• Least Shrew (Cryptotis parva)

• Water Shrew (Sorex palustris)*

*Specimens we have in lab

Masked shrew

(Sorex cinereus)

• Habitat: forest dweller, primarily moist woods (occupies arid areas in some regions)

• Tail makes up ~40% of total length, tail tip usually black

• Usually brown pelage

Pygmy shrew

(Sorex hoyi)

• Habitat: Boreal regions

• One of the smallest terrestrial mammals on Earth (2.1 grams)

• Longer snout than masked shrew

Long-tailed shrew

(Sorex dispar)

• Habitat: Rocky outcrops or forest with many rocky areas

• Adapted to life within rocks (rare):

1) long tail for climbing

2) long rostrum and pointed incisors for extracting inverts from crevices

• Dark slate coloring

• Tail length > 48 mm

Smoky shrew

(Sorex fumeus)

• Habitat: Moist woods with

heavy leaf litter

• Fairly common

• Smoky or gray colored

• Tail length < 48mm

• Skull and body more

robust than

long-tailed shrew

Least shrew

(Cryptotis parva)

• “bee shrew”: sometimes live in abandoned bee hives

• Habitat: Brushy/grassy areas

• NYS = northern extent of geographic range

• Most social shrew

• Virginia: up to 25

in one nest

• Small shrew with short tail

• < 45% of total length

Northern short-tailed shrew

(Blarina brevicauda)

• Habitat: Variety of habitats

• woodlands, grassy meadows and yards

• Poisonous saliva

• catch invertebrate prey

• subdue large prey such as mice and voles

• Very large shrew with short tail compared to body

• Dark slate colored

• Hair has brown tips

Water shrew

(Sorex palustris)

• Habitat: Near small streams or creeks

• Semi-aquatic: Uses water for foraging and escaping predators

• Adaptations to aquatic lifestyle:

• fur traps air bubbles

• stiff fringes of hair on back feet to assist with swimming

• Large shrew

• Bicolored tail

• Black or dark gray fur

Sorex hoyi

Sorex fumeus

Sorex cinereus 100 mm TL 80 mm 40 mm tail 30 mm 2 – 5 g 1 – 5 g

4 obvious unicuspids 3 obvious unicuspids

115 mm TL 115 mm 55 mm tail 40 mm 3 - 8 g 6 - 11 g

Sorex dispar

Side-by-side Comparisons

Slender, dark grey

Heavy-bodied, Grey-brown

Masked Shrew Pygmy Shrew

Long-tailed

Shrew Smoky Shrew

Side-by-side Comparisons

120 mm TL 70 mm 25 mm tail 30 mm 18 - 22 g 5 - 10 g

Cryptotis parva Blarina brevicauda

Large,

“short-tailed”

shrew

small,

“short-tailed”

shrew

Sorex palustris

Black/greyish back; Stiff fringes of hair on long hind feet (fl = 18 mm) Water Shrew

FAMILY: TALPIDAE

• Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)

• Hairy-tailed Mole (Parascalops breweri)

• Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata)

**A major distinguishing factor between

moles & shrews – moles have

larger/longer forefeet for digging.

FAMILY: TALPIDAE

Adapted for fossorial lifestyle:

1. modified forelimbs

2. keeled sternum- allows for attachment of large pectoral muscles

3. reduced external pinnae and eyes

4. short velvet-like, non-directional fur allows for movement in both directions

Eastern mole

(Scalopus aquaticus)

• Habitat: Prefers moist, sandy soils

• Can live in drier climates and more coarse soils

• Uncommon in NY

• Has webbing between foretoes (not aquatic)

• Large mole, tail naked or sparsely haired

Hairy-tailed mole

(Parascalops breweri)

• Habitat: Variable, most abundant in light soils with vegetative cover

• Has vibrissae on snout and edge of palms to serve a tactile function

• Smaller mole, hairy and fleshy tail

Star-nosed mole

(Condylura cristata)

• Habitat: Prefers moist or wet soils, most aquatic mole

• 22 fleshy appendages on nose with over 25,000 Eimer’s organs

• Tactile & electromagnetic

• Unique star-nose

• Long tail

• Black to blackish brown pelage

Side-by-side comparison

Scalopus aquaticus

Parascalops breweri

Condylura cristata

150 mm TL 160 mm 30 mm tail 30 mm 60 – 120 g 40 – 60 g

TL 150 - 200 mm tail 360 - 80 mm 60 - 80 g

• Star-nose • Skull with forward pointed incisors

Eastern Mole

Hairy-tailed

Star-nosed