The Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning "short tail".
Blarina brevicauda is a red-t...
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The Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning "short tail".
Blarina brevicauda is a red-toothed shrew, one of three or four species (depending on the authority) in the genus Blarina. It was formerly considered to be a sister subspecies of the Southern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina carolinensis). The species has been divided into eleven subspecies based on morphological characteristics, which are grouped into two semi-species: brevicauda and talpoides; these groupings were mirrored by a molecular systematics study of the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence. The two groups of subspecies are thought to have been kept isolated from each...
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