Dusky or Montane Shrew - Sorex monticolus
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
none
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
CFWCS Tier:
3
General Description
Pacific coast: pelage gray brown; median tine on anteriomedial edge of I1 usually large and robust; tail indistinctly bicolored; 5 or 6 pairs of friction pads on second to fourth digits of hind feet; level of pigmentation above level of median tine on I1; body size small to medium; U5 triangular, body of U1s not touching, P4 overlapping U5; zygomatic process of maxillary pointed (Carraway 1990).
Diagnostic Characteristics
See carraway (1995) for a key to western north american soricids based primarily on dentaries.
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 222
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Carbon, Cascade, Chouteau, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Missoula, Park, Phillips, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, Silver Bow, Teton, Toole, Valley, Wheatland
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
In western Montana, high altitude spruce-fir forest, alpine tundra. Also as low as 3000 ft. in mid-altitude forests. Occurs along streams and rivers east of Continental Divide and in isolated mountain ranges in central Montana. (Hennings and Hoffmann 1977).
Food Habits
Similar to other long-tailed shrews: eats mostly invertebrates (van Zyll de Jong 1983).
Ecology
Non-breeders territorial. Breeders apparently not territorial (van Zyll de Jong 1983).
Reproductive Characteristics
First-year animals may not be reproductively active (van Zyll de Jong 1983).
Citations & Sources