Elliot’s short-tailed shrew

Elliot's short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga) is one of three species of North American insectivores that resemble voles. These shrews have tiny, degenerate eyes and small ears hidden in their fur, with reddish-tipped teeth on their pointed snouts. They are among the largest North American shrews, weighing up to 30 grams and measuring 8 to 11 cm in body length. Their dense, velvety fur is typically brownish-gray, slate, or black on their upperparts and lighter on their undersides, with a short, gray, furred tail.

These shrews are active day and night throughout the year, foraging for invertebrates like earthworms, slugs, and insects, and also consuming small vertebrates, roots, nuts, seeds, and fungi. They possess a neurotoxic and hemotoxic saliva used to immobilize prey, which they store for later. Short-tailed shrews consume about half their body weight daily and must drink frequently. They travel on the ground, utilizing surface runways and underground burrows, which they excavate or take over from moles or voles. Their territories are marked with scent gland secretions, and they navigate and locate prey using echolocation and a variety of vocalizations, including ultrasonic sounds.1