Tundra Shrew

Open encyclopedia reference

The tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) is a small shrew found in Alaska, the northern Yukon Territory, the MacKenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, extreme northwestern British Columbia and eastern Russia. At one time, this animal was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic shrew (Sorex arcticus).

It is dark brown on its back with pale brown sides and grey underparts. Its tail is brown on top and lighter brown below. Its fur grows longer for winter. Its body is about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) in length including a 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long tail. It weighs about 11 grams (0.39 oz).

This animal is found on hillsides with shrubs or grassy vegetation or dry ridges near marshes or bogs. It eats insects, worms and grasses. Predators include hawks and owls. This animal is active day and night year-round, burrowing through the snow in winter. It mates during the spring. 4 to 8 young are born in a nest under a log or in a crevice.

Wikipedia contributors, Tundra shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:20:22.844614+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Sorex tundrensis Merriam, 1900

Name authority

Merriam, 1900

Common name

Tundra 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 tundrensis Merriam, 1900

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=179957 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:7WW85. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.