The alpine shrew (''Sorex alpinus'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
mammal in the family
Soricidae. It is found in the alpine meadows and coniferous forests of central and southern European mountain ranges.
Description
The Alpine shrew is in length, not including a tail as long as its body, and weighs between . It is a uniform greyish-black on its dorsal (upper) surface and greyish-brown on its underparts. The tips of its teeth are reddish-brown and it has a long pointed snout, small black eyes and rounded pink ears. Its legs and feet are white and the underside of its hairy tail is yellowish.
Juveniles are somewhat paler than adults.
[ It shares its range with the common shrew '' Sorex araneus'' and the Eurasian pygmy shrew '']Sorex minutus
The Eurasian pygmy shrew (''Sorex minutus''), often known simply as the pygmy shrew, is a widespread shrew of the northern Palearctic.
Description
It measures about in length, not including the tail, and has an average weight of .The hair on t ...
'' but is distinguishable from these by its darker fur and longer tail.[
]
Distribution and habitat
The Alpine shrew is found in the mountains and uplands of Central and Eastern Europe and parts of France. Its range includes the Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...
, the Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
, the Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...
, the mountains of southern Germany, the Krkonoše, the Beskids, the Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the h ...
, the Carpathian Mountains, the Transylvanian Alps, the uplands of Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
and the mountains of the former Yugoslavia. The Alpine shrew is found in Alpine meadow
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
s and in coniferous woodland at elevations between about .tree line
The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...
but more normally favours damp pastures and swampy ground near small streams in areas with dwarf sparse conifers near the upper limit of tree cover.[ It tends to lurk in dense vegetation, occupies rock crevices and lives under boulders or fallen branches and often occurs near ]mountain hut
A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organizatio ...
s.[
The Alpine shrew was recorded in the Spanish ]Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
in the early 20th century. It is presumed locally extinct
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
due to the lack of modern sightings.[Palomo, L. J., Gisbert, J., & Blanco, J. C. (Eds.). (2007). Atlas y libro rojo de los mamíferos terrestres de España. Madrid: Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales.]
Behaviour
The Alpine shrew is nocturnal and is a skilled climber, using its tail for balance. It uses scent glands on its flanks to mark its territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
. Like other shrew species, it has a high metabolic rate and needs to feed frequently. It eats insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s, spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...
s, snail
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...
s and earthworm
An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. ...
s and is in turn the prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
of fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
es, weasel
Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender ...
s, domestic cats and tawny owl
The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, ...
s.[
]
Status
The Alpine shrew is listed as "Near Threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...
" in the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...
. This is because it occupies a number of separate, disjunct mountain regions and seems to be slowly declining in numbers. It may be threatened by habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
as hydro-electric schemes and increased tourism impact its environment. It used to be present in the Pyrenees but has not been seen there for many years and may be extinct there, nor has it been seen recently in the Harz Mountain region of Germany.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q926608
Sorex
Mammals described in 1837
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot