Soricomorpha and Cingulata

• Blarina brevicauda
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

• Head and body length is 75-105 mm, tail length is 17-30 mm. Males
• are slightly larger than females, especially in the skulls. The fur is velvety and soft, and the color almost uniformly slate gray, with the underparts being only slightly paler. Summer pelage is a shade paler than winter.

Blarina brevicauda is a robust-looking shrew, nearly the size of a meadow mouse; the snout is shorter and heavier than that of other shrews, the tail is short, the eyes small, and the ears are almost completely hidden by the fur.

• Cyptotis parva
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

The fur of C. parva is short, dense and velvety. In winter the upper fur is brown to black and the underside is white. In summer the fur is paler. The zygomatic arches are incomplete. Like many other shrews, the teeth have brown pigment on the cusps. The teeth between the central incisors and the premolars have been termed unicuspids but the homologies of the anterior teeth are not well understood. A dental formula including the unicuspids is i 1/1 u 4/1 p 1/1 m 3/3. The deciduous teeth are lost prior to birth. Selected measurements are: total length, 67 to 103 mm; tail, 12 to 22 mm; hind foot, 9 to 13 mm; weight, 4 to 6.5 g

• Sorex cinereus
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

• Sorex cinereus is the second smallest shrew species. Sorex hoyi
• is slightly smaller. Although similar in size, their coloration is
• quite different. There is no significant sexual dimorphism in common
• shrews. Dorsal fur is brown, ventral fur is greyish-white. Pelage
• tends to be darker overall in winter. The tail is brown above and pale
• underneath, with a blackish tip. Average length of the tail is 39.9mm,
• comprising over 40% of the total length. Average length of adults is 99 mm.

• Sorex fumeus
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

• Smoky shrews get their name from the gray or black color of their body fur in winter, in summer it is dull brown. The fur on their belly is
• usually the same color as the back, or a little lighter. One distinctive
• trait is it's bicolored tail: dark on top, but tan underneath. Total
• length is 110 to 126 mm, tail length 42-52 mm. Adults weigh 6-11 g. Likeall shrews they have a long, cone-shaped snout, many sharp teeth, small(but functional) eyes, and fur that is short but soft and dense.

• Sorex hoyi
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

The smallest American mammal by weight, weighing in at only 2 to 4g. These shrews are approximately 80 to 91 mm in total length. The tail accounts for approximately 1/3 of that length at 27 to 32 mm. The head is narrow, the nose pointed, and there are obvious whiskers. The eyes are inconspicous, being covered by short, soft fur. Dorsal coloration varies from gray-brown in the summer to gray in the winter. The underparts are a lighter gray. The dental formula is: 3/1, 1/1, 3/1, 3/3= 32.

• Sorex palustris
• Soricomorpha - Soricidae

• Water shrews are relatively large shrews with males tending to be longer and heavier than females. The total length of a water shrew can range between 130 and 170 mm, and the weight ranges from 8 to 18 grams. Although the colour of the pelage may be variable, it
• is generally black or grey-black dorsally and a silvery-grey ventrally, but appears more black in the winter and becomes more brown in the summer. Water shrews, as a member of the long tailed shrews, can have tails varying from 57 to 89 mm in length. The tail is bicoloured, dark above and white or grey below or occasionally concoloured . The hind feet (18 to 21 mm) are larger than the fore feet and have a trim of 1 mm long stiff hairs (fibrillae) on the toes and the inner and outer sides of the feet. A fringe of smaller stiff hairs is also found on the fore feet. The skull of the water shrew is large (21 to 23 mm and width 10 to 11 mm) with a dental formula of 1/1 5/1 1/1 3/3 = 32; the fourth upper unicuspid is characteristically smaller than the third.

• Condylura cristata
• Soricomorpha - Talpidae

• Condylura cristata is one of the most distinctive mammal species. Its nose is hairless and is ringed by a unique 'star' of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles. The star is bilaterally symmetrical with 11 appendages per side that vary in length from between 1 and 4 mm. Condylura cristata
• ranges from 175 to 205 mm in total length and weighs between 35 and 75 g. Like other moles it has a stout, roughly cylindrical body with
• heavily-built forelimbs, broad feet and large claws. Its hair is short,
• dense and coarser than that of other moles. The pelage is dark brown to black on the back and lighter brown underneath. The tail is 65 to 85 mm long, constricted at the base, annulated, scaly and covered with coarse hair. During winter the tail swells 3 to 4 times its normal diameter. Females have 8 mammae, and the testes of males can be 8.8% of the total body weight during the mating season. Sexes are otherwise similar in appearance.

• Neurotrichus gibbsii
• Soricomorpha - Talpidae

N. gibbsii is the smallest species of New World Talpidae. Its hair is black or blue-black and not as plush as other moles. Shrew-moles' forefeet are slightly broadened, not webbed and modified for digging only. The external ears are absent. Eyes are greatly reduced, and these animals have a flat, elongated nose. The tail is about half as long as the body and reasonably wide. N. gibbsii show no sexual diamorphism and its dental formula is 3/3, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3= 36

• Parascalpos breweri
• Soricomorpha - Talpidae

• Hairy-tailed moles can be distinguished from other moles that are in
• Ontario by their short snout, hairy tail, and lack of protuberances on the snout. The length of the head and body is 116 to 140mm, and the length of the tail is 23 to 36 mm. Adults weigh from 40 to 85 grams. The fur is thick, and soft, but it is slightly coarser than in
• the eastern American mole (Scalopus). The color is blackish. White spots are often present on the breast or abdomen; the snout, tail, and feet may become almost pure white with age. The snout is shorter than in Scalopus or Scapanus and has a median longitudinal groove on the anterior half. The nostrils are lateral and directed upward. There are no external ears, and the eyes are nearly hidden by the fur. The palms of the hands are as broad as they are long, and the digits are not webbed. The tail is thick and fleshy, with a constriction at the base. The tail is also annulated with scales, and covered with long hairs. Females have four pairs of mammae. Sexual dimorphism is evident with males being slighly larger than females.

• Scalopus aquaticus
• Soricomorpha - Talpidae

Head and body length in Scalopus aquaticus ranges from 110 to 170mm. Tail length ranges from 18 to 36mm. This size variation occurs on a gradient with the largest animals in the northeast and the smallest in the southwest. The robust body is covered with a thick velvety fur of a color that varies from silver to black to copper. The short tail is round, almost hairless, and indistinctly scaly. The feet are scantily haired above, naked below, and quite large. The webbing between the toes of each foot aids in digging. These moles have no external eyes or ears. It is thought that the poorly developed eye may be effective in detecting light.

• Dasypus novemcinctus
• Cingulata - Dasypodidae