3 r 



1° 



Distribution and Taxonomy of Blarina 105 



B. brevicauda B. carolinensis 



Wr 



-3 



canonical variable l 



Fig. 1. Relationships of 479 Blarina from the Southeast as plotted by discrimi- 

 nant analysis (BMD P7M). Stars represent group means for B. brevicauda and 

 B. carolinensis. Letters represent individual specimens from central Tennessee 

 and are the first letter or letters of the counties in which the shrews were col- 

 lected (Anderson, Davidson, Franklin, Hickman, Marion, Putnam, Warren and 

 Wayne). 



lin County specimens fall within the B. brevicauda cluster, but the 

 remaining specimens are located outside the limits of this cluster and 

 intermediate to the two Blarina species. 



Blarina from Anderson, Davidson, Franklin, Lincoln and Wayne 

 counties are probably best referred to as B. brevicauda and the Marion 

 County specimen as B. carolinensis. The possibility of hybridization or 

 intergradation between the two forms of Blarina, however, should not 

 be ruled out. 



Most Tennessee B. brevicauda are found in the mountainous parts 

 of the state on the eastern and northern borders. Wayne County is 

 located on the Highland Rim and is not particularly high in elevation, 

 but the shrews from Franklin and Lincoln counties were collected on 

 the Cumberland Plateau at about 2000 feet (610 m) elevation. These 

 large shrews might represent a relict population of B. brevicauda, but it 

 seems more likely that they are joined to other B. brevicauda popula- 

 tions along the length of the Cumberland Plateau. If this is true, large 

 specimens of Blarina should be looked for at higher elevations in coun- 

 ties such as Bledsoe, Cumberland, Grundy and Sequatchie. 



Many authors (Lawrence and Bossert 1967, 1969; Gipson et al. 

 1974; Kirkland and Van Deusen 1979; Parkinson 1979; and others) have 



