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Sorex (long-tailed shrew)

Osteichthyes - Soricidae

Taxonomy
Sorex was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant. Its type is Sorex araneus. It is the type genus of Soricoidea.

It was assigned to Bestiae by Linnaeus (1758); to Soricina by Gray (1825); to Soricini by Van Valen (1967), George (1986), Gunnell et al. (2008); and to Soricidae by Hay (1930), Sherman (1952), Dehm (1962), Kurten (1968), Kurten and Anderson (1980), Gustafson (1985), Carroll (1988), Shoshani et al. (1989), Seymour (2004), Silcox et al. (2010), Eshelman et al. (2025).

Species
S. alpinoides, S. alpinus, S. araneus (type species), S. arcticus, S. arizonae, S. bor, S. caecutiens, S. cinereus, S. cudahyensis, S. dehneli, S. dispar, S. edwardsi, S. ertemteensis, S. fejfari, S. frankstounensis, S. fumeus, S. gracilidens, S. hagermanensis, S. hibbardi, S. hoyi (syn. S. thompsoni), S. kansasensis, S. kennardi, S. lacustris, S. leahyi, S. longirostris, S. margaritodon, S. megapalustris, S. meltoni, S. merriami, S. minutoides, S. minutus (syn. S. minutus), S. monticolus, S. obscurus, S. ornatus, S. palustris, S. personatus, S. powersi, S. praealpinus, S. praearaneus, S. pratensis, S. pseudoalpinus, S. quadraticauda, S. rexroadensis, S. runtonensis, S. sandersi, S. saussurei, S. savini, S. scottensis, S. subminutus, S. tasnadii, S. taylori, S. trowbridgii, S. vagrans, S. yatkolai
Species lacking formal opinion data
S. aranaeus, S. aranoides, S. austriacus, S. casimiri, S. cinerus, S. collongensis, S. dehmi, S. grivensis, S. helleri, S. hundsheimensis, S. minutissimus, S. minutus, S. mirabilis, S. pachyodon, S. polonicus, S. postsavini, S. praeminutus, S. pygmaeus, S. shinto, S. subaraneus, S. vulgaris
Entered
by J. Alroy on 2003-01-23; modified by M. Carrano on 2024-03-29

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Sorex Linnaeus p. 53
1762Musaraneus Brisson
1825Sorex Gray p. 339
1835Amphisorex Duvernoy p. 13
1842Otisorex De Kay
1848Hydrogale Pomel
1857Neosorex Baird
1859Amphisorex Gervais p. 55
1877Microsorex Baird
1884Atophyrax Merriam
1890Homalurus Schulze
1904Sorex (Microsorex) Palmer p. 423
1910Microsorex Preble
1927Soricidus Altobello
1930Microsorex Hay p. 440
1930Sorex Hay p. 440
1952Sorex Sherman p. 87
1962Sorex Dehm
1967Microsorex Van Valen
1967Sorex Van Valen
1968Sorex Kurten p. 43
1980Sorex Kurten and Anderson p. 103
1980Microsorex Kurten and Anderson p. 109
1981Microsorex Hall
1985Sorex Gustafson p. 88
1986Sorex George p. 153
1988Amphisorex Carroll
1988Microsorex Carroll
1988Sorex Carroll
1989Sorex Shoshani et al. p. 436
2004Sorex Seymour
2008Sorex Gunnell et al.
2010Sorex Silcox et al.
2025Sorex Eshelman et al. p. 86

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
RankNameAuthor
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Eulipotyphla
suborderSoricomorphaGregory 1910
familySoricidaeFischer 1814
subfamilySoricinaeFischer von Waldheim 1817
tribeSoriciniFischer von Waldheim 1817
genusSorex

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Sorex Linnaeus 1758 [long-tailed shrew]
show all | hide all
†Sorex alpinoides Kowalski 1956
Sorex alpinus Schinz 1837
Sorex araneus Linnaeus 1758 [common shrew]
Sorex arcticus Kerr 1792 [arctic shrew]
Sorex arizonae Diersing and Hoffmeister 1977
†Sorex bor Reumer 1984
Sorex caecutiens Laxmann 1788
Sorex cinereus Kerr 1792 [cinereus shrew]
†Sorex cudahyensis Hibbard 1944
†Sorex dehneli Kowalski 1956
Sorex dispar Batchelder 1896 [long-tailed shrew]
†Sorex edwardsi Brown 1980
†Sorex ertemteensis Storch 1995
†Sorex fejfari Horácek 1988
Sorex frankstounensis Peterson 1926
Sorex fumeus Miller 1895 [smoky shrew]
†Sorex gracilidens Viret and Zapfe 1951
†Sorex hagermanensis Hibbard and Bjork 1971
†Sorex hibbardi Sulimski 1962
Sorex hoyi Baird 1858 [American pygmy shrew]
+
Invalid names: Sorex thompsoni Baird 1858 [synonym]
†Sorex kansasensis McMullen 1975
†Sorex kennardi Hinton 1911
†Sorex lacustris Hibbard 1944
†Sorex leahyi Hibbard 1956
Sorex longirostris Bachman 1837 [southeastern shrew]
†Sorex margaritodon Kormos 1930
†Sorex megapalustris Paulson 1961
†Sorex meltoni Hibbard and Bjork 1971
Sorex merriami Dobson 1890
†Sorex minutoides Storch 1995
Sorex minutus Linnaeus 1766 [Eurasian pygmy shrew]
+
Invalid names: Sorex minutus Brown 1908 [synonym]
Sorex monticolus Merriam 1890 [montane shrew]
Sorex obscurus Merriam 1895
Sorex ornatus Merriam 1895
Sorex palustris Richardson 1828 [American water shrew]
Sorex personatus Brown 1908
†Sorex powersi Hibbard and Bjork 1971
†Sorex praealpinus Heller 1930
†Sorex praearaneus Kormos 1934
†Sorex pratensis Hibbard 1944
†Sorex pseudoalpinus Rzebik-Kowalska 1991
Sorex quadraticauda Milne-Edwards 1972
†Sorex rexroadensis Hibbard 1953
†Sorex runtonensis Hinton 1911
†Sorex sandersi Hibbard 1956
Sorex saussurei Merriam 1892
†Sorex savini Hinton 1911
†Sorex scottensis Jammot 1972
†Sorex subminutus Sulimski 1962
†Sorex tasnadii Kretzoi 1965
†Sorex taylori Hibbard 1937
Sorex trowbridgii Baird 1858
Sorex vagrans Baird 1858
†Sorex yatkolai Brown 1980
Invalid names: Amphisorex Duvernoy 1835 [synonym], Atophyrax Merriam 1884 [synonym], Corsira [synonym], Homalurus Schulze 1890 [synonym], Hydrogale Pomel 1848 [synonym], Microsorex Baird 1877 [synonym], Musaraneus Brisson 1762 [synonym], Neosorex Baird 1857 [synonym], Otisorex De Kay 1842 [synonym], Soricidus Altobello 1927 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
Gervais 1859 (Amphisorex)Musaraigne à dents rouges, les intermédiaires au nombre de 5/2: la première dent inférieure grande, dentelée sur son bord tranchant.
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: omnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-08-22 18:40:24
Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Ji et al. 2002, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988, Lillegraven 1979, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Burdigalian to the top of the Holocene or 20.45000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.98 Ma

Collections (320 total)

Oldest occurrences

Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Miocene - Middle Miocene23.04 - 11.63Spain (Castile-La Mancha) Sorex sp. (136269)
Miocene23.04 - 5.333France Sorex dehmi, Sorex grivensis, Sorex collongensis (200296)
Burdigalian20.45 - 15.98Serbia (Serbia) Sorex dehmi (39714)
Langhian - Serravallian15.98 - 11.63France (Midi-Pyrenees) Sorex grivensis (32191)
Langhian - Tortonian15.98 - 7.246France (Maine-et-Loire) Sorex sp. (142149)
MN 613.82 - 12.75Germany (Bayern) Sorex dehmi (45603)
Clarendonian12.5 - 9.4USA (California) Sorex sp. (19322 19323 19324 19384 19517)
Clarendonian12.5 - 9.4USA (Oklahoma) Sorex sp. (18463)
Clarendonian - Hemphillian12.5 - 4.7USA (Nebraska) Sorex edwardsi (18326)
Late/Upper Miocene11.63 - 5.333China (Nei Mongol) Sorex minutoides, Sorex ertemteensis, Sorex pseudoalpinus (68591)
Hemphillian9.4 - 4.7USA (Nebraska) Sorex edwardsi (18086) Sorex sp., Sorex edwardsi, Sorex yatkolai (18225)
Turolian8.725 - 5.09Greece (Central Macedonia) Soricidae sp. B (32189)
Turolian8.725 - 5.09China (Yunnan) Soricinae indet. (44223 44224)
Early/Lower Pliocene5.333 - 3.6China (Nei Mongol) Sorex minutoides, Sorex ertemteensis, Sorex pseudoalpinus (68592) Sorex sp., Sorex minutoides, Sorex ertemteensis, Sorex pseudoalpinus (75300)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.58Russian Federation (Western Transbaikalia) Sorex mirabilis, Sorex sp. (40391)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.58Poland Sorex subaraneus (34681)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.58Spain (Albacete) Sorex subminutus (41931 41932 41937)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.58China Sorex sp. (13485)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117Hungary (Barany) Sorex runtonensis (35359 35383 35473)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117France (Midi-Pyrenees) Sorex subaraneus, Sorex subminutus (35076)