Barren Ground Shrew

Open encyclopedia reference

The barren ground shrew (Sorex ugyunak) is a small shrew found in northern Canada west of Hudson Bay and in Alaska. At one time, this species was considered to be a subspecies of the similar cinereus shrew (S. cinereus). It is similar in appearance and thought to be closely related to the Saint Lawrence Island shrew (S. jacksoni) and Pribilof Island shrew (S. pribilofensis).

It is dark brown on its back with grey-brown sides and underparts; the tail is pale brown on top and light below with a light brown tip. Its body is about 8 cm (3.1 in) in length including a 3 cm (1.2 in) long tail. It weighs about 4 g (0.14 oz). This animal is found north of the tree line, in wet meadows or thickets in the tundra. It eats insects, small invertebrates and seeds.

The epithet name ugyunak is the Inuit word for "shrew".

Wikipedia contributors, Barren ground shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:16:14.810114+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Sorex ugyunak R. M. Anderson & Rand, 1945

Name authority

R. M. Anderson & Rand, 1945

Common name

Barren Ground Shrew

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Eulipotyphla

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Sorex

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
12. familySoricidae G. Fischer, 1814
13. subfamilySoricinae G. Fischer, 1814
14. tribeSoricini G. Fischer, 1814
15. genusSorex Linnaeus, 1758
16. speciesSorex ugyunak R. M. Anderson & Rand, 1945

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Sorex. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 289 records assigned to Soricidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552509 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:7WW73. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.