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Common Shrew — Part 2
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There are a number of minute long-tailed shrews which are perfectly distinct from one another, but so small are they and so much alike in superficial appearance that it is hard to distinguish them without dealing with technical terms. If we examine the teeth of a shrew we will find in the upper jaw three kinds: first, a pair of large protruding incisor teeth in the front, almost tusks when we consider the size of the shrew; second, three large teeth (molars) on each side in the back of the mouth, and third, four or five simple pointed teeth on each side, situated between the other two. These last are called (in the shrew) unicuspid or single pointed teeth, and furnish us the best aid in distinguishing these little animals.
Our species may be grouped as follows:
A. LENGTH 3.80--4.60 INCHES. FIVE UNICUSPID TEETH ON EACH SIDE A1. TAIL LESS THAN 1.80 INCHES
1. Common Shrew. Sorex personatus Geoffrey. Description and range as above.
2. Labrador Shrew. S. personatus miscix Bangs. Larger, paler and grayer.
3. Smoky Shrew. S. fumeus Miller. Larger than the common shrew, and dark slate coloured, shading into lighter ash below, browner in summer.
4. Southern Shrew. S. longirostris Bachman. Externally very much like the common shrew, but with the snout and skull much larger, and the third unicuspid tooth smaller than the fourth.
5. Fisher's Shrew. S. fisheri (Merriam). Similar but larger and duller.
A2. TAIL VERY LONG (2.20 INCHES) AND HEAVY
6. Long-tailed Shrew. S. macrurus Batchelder. Above, dark slate, below, smoky gray. Easily known by the very thick tail with a rather long pencil of hairs at the tip.
B. VERY SMALL; LENGTH 3.20--3.40 INCHES. APPARENTLY ONLY FOUR UNICUSPID TEETH ON EACH SIDE, THE THIRD BEING EXCEEDINGLY SMALL
7. Hoy's Shrew. S. hoyi Baird. Brown above, shading to gray beneath, a touch of fulvous between the front legs. The smallest North American mammal.