M 



ammals 



Family SORICIDAE 



Sorex cinereus: Cinereous Shrew 

 Sorex cinereus hollisteri 



This western Alaska form of cinereus is distributed throughout 

 the length of Alaska Peninsula arid on Unimak Island. A mummi- 

 fied specimen from Tigalda Island, obtained by Stevenson in April 

 1925, marks the westernmost record of this shrew. 



More than 200 specimens have been collected, chiefly in the 

 district here under discussion. We have specimens from the basal 

 parts of Alaska Peninsula and adjacent territory, including such 

 localities as Nushagak, Kakwok, Lake Aleknagik, Lake Clark, 

 Iliamna Lake, Katmai, and Becharof Lake. There are specimens 

 from Port Moller, Cold Bay, Chignik, King Cove, Frosty Peak, 

 Izembek Bay, and Unimak Island, but we have no specimens 

 from Kodiak-Afognak Islands, the Shumagins, or other outlying 

 islands. 



In 1925, I found these shrews to be abundant at Izembek Bay, 

 and I obtained specimens at Urilia Bay, St. Catherine Cove, and 

 False Pass on Unimak Island. They were found in the grassy 

 margin of ponds as well as on the higher tundra. On May 5, 

 1925, as Donald Stevenson and I came upon a high grassy flat 

 above a lagoon at Urilia Bay, we heard a faint squeaking in the 

 grass and caught glimpses of shrews darting here and there. To 

 quote from my notes : 



I imitated the squeaks, and presently a shrew came bobbing over the grass 

 right up to me and I pounced on him. Soon another came along in response 

 to my squeaking, but disappeared in a tuft of grass. Then a third came up 

 and I caught him. Stevenson caught another and we missed several. These 

 shrews came from a distance of 20 to 25 feet. Those caught (original Nos. 

 1979, 1980 and 1981) were all males, with enlarged testes. They probably 

 responded to the squeaking in the spirit of battle with another male, or 

 perhaps with the expectation of finding a female. 



Stevenson trapped two females at Izembek Bay; one had 11 

 embryos, and the other had 8. 



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