cm 



Evormann mihI liullcr, l^roc. hid. Acjid. Sci. for 180)^. [). 

 123, 1894. 



Blarina parva Merriam, N, Am. Fauna, No. 10, p. 17, 1895. 



Diagnostic characters. — Size much smaller than the other shrews 

 of the g^enus (under three inches in total lenj*'th) ; tail not over 

 three-fourths of an inch ; color brown ; eight teeth on each side 

 of the upper jaw. 



Descriptioyi. — The color varies a great deal with the season. 

 The vv^orn summer fur is short and pale, being only a very little 

 darker than the fawn color of Ridgway's plates. The fresh wintei* 

 pelage is longer and darker ; under side ash gray, generally stained 

 with yellowish, especially on the throat and chest ; tail dark ; upper 

 lip edged with white ; feet whitish above, flesh color below, the 

 colors sharply separated. A specimen taken at Mitchell on October 

 28 has the short summer fur still on the sides and shoulders, while 

 the middle of the back is covered v^ith the glossy brow^n of the 

 winter coat. 



Measurements. — Five specimens from Mitchell averaged : Total 

 length, 72.4 mm. (2 14/16 in.) ; tail, 16 mm. (10/16 in.) ; hind foot, 



Fig. 17. — Skull of Blarina parva: a, dorsal view; b, lateral view. After Merriam, 

 N. Am. Fauna No. 10, Bureau of the Biol. Sur., U. S. Dept. of Agri. 



9.8 mm. (6/16 in.). This is slightly less than the average of speci- 

 mens from the type locality at Blair, Nebraska. 



Skull and teeth. — The skull (Fig. 17) is very much smaller than 

 that of the other Blarinas. Five skulls from IMitchell average 16 

 mm. in greatest length and 8 mm. in greatest breadth. The widest 

 portion is midway of the braincase and from this point forward the 

 lateral outlines form a triangle. The braincase is more rounded, 

 than in the larger species of the genus. The dentition differs from 

 that of the larger .species also, one of the small upper premolars 

 being absent. The skull is remarkably strong for one of its size and 

 is not easily crushed. 



a 



b 



