In his revision of the American long-tailed shrews, Jackson (N. Amer. Fauna, 51, vi + 238, 13 pls., 24 figs., July 24, 1928) referred specimens of Sorex cinereus from Tyonek, Cook Inlet, Alaska, to the subspecies S. c. cinereus (op. cit.: 46) and one specimen from Chester Creek, Anchorage, Alaska, to the subspecies S. c. hollisteri (op. cit.: 56). Thus, the geographic ranges of the two subspecies would seem to overlap around the northern shores of Cook Inlet. In an attempt to resolve this seemingly anomalous distribution, we have examined pertinent materials in the Biological Surveys Collection, U.S. National Museum. We agree with Jackson (op. cit.) that the series of specimens from Tyonek is readily referable to S. c. cinereus. To our eye, however, the specimen, No. 232691, from Anchorage is referable to Sorex cinereus cinereus, rather than to S. c. hollisteri. The reference is made on the basis of the darker color, especially of the underparts. In this specimen, other characters that distinguish the two mentioned subspecies are not apparent, probably because it is relatively young; the teeth show only slight wear.
Sorex trowbridgii humboldtensis Jackson
In his account of the long-tailed shrews, Jackson (N. Amer. Fauna, 51:98, July 24, 1928) listed under specimens examined of Sorex trowbridgii montereyensis four specimens from 7 mi. N Hardy, Mendocino Co., California. Under his account of the subspecies S. t. humboldtensis, however, he (op. cit.:97) mentions that specimens (seemingly the same four) from 7 mi. N Hardy "have shorter tails than typical representatives of humboldtensis, but in color and cranial characters they are similar to this [humboltensis] subspecies." We conclude, therefore, that the specimens mentioned were inadvertently listed as S. t. montereyensis and are Sorex trowbridgii humboldtensis. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the locality concerned, 7 mi. N Hardy, is within the geographic range assigned to S. t. humboldtensis by Jackson (op. cit.:97); his southern records of occurrence of S. t. humboldtensis are Sherwood and Mendocino, both in Mendocino County, California. Our conclusion is further supported by Grinnell's (Univ. California Publ. Zool., 40(2):80, September 26, 1933) statement of the range of S. t. montereyensis as "from southern Mendocino County south...."
Blarina brevicauda churchi Bole and Moulthrop
Kellogg (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 86:253, February 14, 1939) tentatively referred specimens of the short-tailed shrew from the mountainous parts of eastern Tennessee to the subspecies Blarina brevicauda talpoides, with the remark that they were unlike specimens of that subspecies obtained in eastern and southern West Virginia. Subsequently, Bole and Moulthrop (Sci. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:109, September 11, 1942) named the subspecies Blarina brevicauda churchi with type locality at Roan Mountain, North Carolina. We have examined the specimens in the U.S. National Museum recorded by Kellogg (loc. cit.) from the following localities: Shady Valley, 2900 ft. (Catalogue No. 267182); Holston Mtn., 4 mi. NE Shady Valley, 3800 ft. (Nos. 267176-267178, 267180, and 267181); Holston Mtn., 3 mi. NE Shady Valley, 3000 ft. (No. 267179); Roan Mtn., (Nos. 267469-267475); Mt. Guyot, 6300 ft. (No. 267183); 4½ mi. SE Cosby, 3300 and 3400 ft. (Nos. 267184 and 267185); and Snake Den Mtn., 3800 ft. (No. 267186). Among named kinds of Blarina brevicauda, we find these specimens to resemble most closely Blarina brevicauda churchi and so refer them. They are readily distinguishable from specimens of B. b. kirtlandi, that occurs farther north in the same mountain range, by larger size and longer tail. Incidentally, in the specimens that we have examined, we do not find that B. b. churchi is darker colored than other subspecies of Blarina brevicauda; B. b. churchi, to us, is indistinguishable in color from B. b. kirtlandi. Bole and Moulthrop (op. cit.) thought that B. b. churchi was notably darker than other subspecies from adjoining areas.
Blarina brevicauda carolinensis (Bachman)
Blair (Amer. Midland Nat., 22(1):99, July, 1939) referred specimens of the short-tailed shrew from the Arbuckle Mountain area of Oklahoma to Blarina brevicauda hulophaga and specimens from Mohawk Park, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, to B. b. carolinensis. Later Bole and Moulthrop (Sci. Publs. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:108, September 11, 1942) saw two of the specimens from Mohawk Park and assigned them to B. b. hulophaga. According to the most recent published account, therefore, B. b. hulophaga would seem to have a peculiarly discontinuous geographic range. We have examined the material seen by Blair and by Bole and Moulthrop (Nos. 75946, 75947, 75643, Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan) in an attempt to form our own judgment as to their subspecific identity. The teeth of No. 75946 are well worn, whereas the teeth of the other two are scarcely worn. We are unable to distinguish No. 75946 from topotypes of B. b. carolinensis by size, color, or cranial features. The two younger specimens are smaller and paler, but do not agree with the description of B. b. hulophaga. The nearly-complete narrow, white girdle of No. 75947 is clearly an individual variation. We assign the animals to Blarina brevicauda carolinensis (Bachman) as did Blair (loc. cit.).
Blarina brevicauda minima Lowery
Bailey (N. Amer. Fauna, 25:207, October 24, 1905) identified as Blarina brevicauda carolinensis one specimen from Joaquin and two specimens from Big Thicket, 8 mi. NE Sour Lake, both localities in eastern Texas. Strecker and Williams (Jour. Mamm., 10:259, August 10, 1929) later recorded the specimens again under the same name. The subsequent naming of B. b. plumbea from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Aransas County, Texas (Davis, Jour. Mamm., 22(3):317, August 14, 1941) and B. b. minima from Louisiana (Lowery, Occas. Papers Mus. Zool., Louisiana St. Univ., 13:218, November 22, 1943) leaves the identity of the specimens from eastern Texas in doubt. We have examined the following specimens in the Biological Surveys Collection, U.S. National Museum: No. 117372, from Joaquin; No. 136407, from 7 mi. NE Sour Lake; and No. 136788, from 8 mi. NE Sour Lake. We judge these to be the specimens referred to by Bailey (loc. cit.). We find that they are indistinguishable from specimens of Blarina brevicauda minima and they seem to differ from B. b. plumbea in being chestnut rather than plumbeous in color and in lacking the highly-arched posterior border of the palate. They are easily distinguished from B. b. carolinensis by their chestnut, rather than slaty-black, color and small size. They are distinguishable from B. b. hulophaga, to which they might conceivably be referred on geographic grounds, by their color and small size. We refer them to Blarina brevicauda minima Lowery.
Spilogale angustifrons angustifrons A. H. Howell