Family SORICIDAE 



57 



distinguished with certainty from the latter only by skull char- 

 acters. The pelage is reddish brown. 



Length measurements: head and body about 2]4, inches (55 

 mm.); tail about 1 inch (27 mm.); over-all about 3i4 inches 

 (82 mm.) ; hind foot ^ inch (9 mm.). 



The skull is shorter than that of the masked shrew but it 

 is similar in shape. The molar teeth are larger than those of 

 the masked shrew; the fourth unicuspid on each side of the 

 upper jaw is larger than the third, fig. 44^. Dental formula: 

 I 3/1. C 1/1, Pm 3/1, M 3/3. 



The southeastern shrew can be distinguished from the pigmy 

 shrew in having five rather than three readily discernible uni- 

 cuspids on each side of the upper jaw. 



Life History. — The southeastern shrew is one of the least 

 known mammals in Illinois, for less than a dozen specimens 

 have been collected in the state. One specimen, taken at Fox 

 Ridge State Park, Coles County, was found beneath a log where 

 a pond had dried up in a brushy, sparsely wooded portion of the 

 park. Another individual from the same locality was found in 

 a wooded ravine. 



Signs. — Presumably the signs of the southeastern shrew are 

 identical with those of the related masked shrew. 



Distribution. — The rare southeastern shrew is known in 

 Illinois only from Alexander. Coles, Fayette, and Johnson coun- 

 ties. Specimens taken in this state are presumed to belong to 

 the subspecies Sorex long'irostris longirostris Bachman. The 



Fig. 47. — Southeastern shrew. 



