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]/$ inches (55 

 mm.) ; tail about 1 inch (27 mm.) ; over-all about 3\4 inches 

 (82 mm.) ; hind foot Y§ 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 w r ooded 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 longirostris longirostris Rachman. The 



Fig. 47. — Southeastern shrew, 



