BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Neurotrichus gibbsii
American Shrew Mole
| Scientific Name: | Neurotrichus gibbsii (Baird, 1858) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Name: | American Shrew Mole | ||||||||||
| English Name Synonyms: |
Shrew-mole
|
||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | M-NEGI | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4 (Mar 2024) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Most breeding occurs from early March to mid-May, but even then only a few percent of specimens are in breeding condition. Length of gestation not known. Litter size varies from 1-4 young. Newborns altricial. Reported to have an XO system of sex determination. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Seems to be more social than other insectivores; may travel in loose bands (Dalquest and Orcutt 1942, Maser et al. 1981). Population density in favorable habitat estimated at 12-15/ha (but up to 247/ha after removal of all other small mammals) (Dalquest and Orcutt 1942). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
|
Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Mesic (average) / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Gravel Bar / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Riparian Forest / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Riparian Herbaceous / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Riparian Shrub / Facultative - frequent use Stream/River / Stream/River / Facultative - frequent use Subterranean / Sub-soil / Obligate Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Fen / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Marsh / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - frequent use |
||||||||||
| Global Habitat Comments: | Washington: moist habitats with soft earth free of sod; lower elevation ravines with deep soils, much vegetative surface litter (logs, leaves), and big-leaf maple and other plants; less commonly in lakeshore willow thickets; rarely in drier habitats (Dalquest 1948). Oregon: most common in riparian alder and alder-salmonberry thickets; less commonly occurs in mature and immature conifer, riparian hardwood, sitka spruce-salal, skunkcabbage marsh, wet pasture, headland prairie, and headland scrub habitats (Maser et al. 1981); also montane areas with low cover of lichen and few snags, and Douglas-fir forest (see Carraway and Verts 1991). California: redwood, Douglas-fir, and yellow pine forests and forest edges, usually near streams (Ingles 1965). Constructs runways near surface of duff layer and deeper but shallow burrows, usually near streams. Less fossorial than other moles. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
|
||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | May consume more than its own body weight in food in one day. Feeds primarily on earthworms, gastropods, centipedes, sowbugs, insects, and other invertebrates. Also eats some plant seeds, fungi, and lichens. Sightless; detects prey with snout. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Circadian: Adult, Immature
|
||||||||||
| Global Phenology Comments: | Active throughout the year. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
|||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 13/ / 11 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Northwestern North America, from southwestern British Columbia (Fraser River region) south through western Washington (including Destruction Island), western Oregon, and western California to Fremont Peak, Monterey County. To 2440 m in Washington. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Apr 19, 1993 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp. |
|||||||||||
Carraway, L. N., and B. J. Verts. 1991. Neurotrichus gibbsii. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 387: 1-7. |
|||||||||||
Dalquest, W. W., and D. R. Orcutt. 1942. The biology of the least shrew-mole, Neurotrichus gibbsii minor. Am. Midl. Nat. 27:387-401. |
|||||||||||
Dalquest. W. W. 1948. Mammals of Washington. University of Kansas Museum Natural History Publ. 2:1-444. |
|||||||||||
Gorman, M. L., and R. D. Stone. 1990. The natural history of moles. Cornell Univ. Press. 208 pp. |
|||||||||||
Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I & II. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp. |
|||||||||||
Ingles, L. G. 1965. Mammals of the Pacific States. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. |
|||||||||||
Jackson, H. H. T. 1915. A review of the American moles. North American Fauna 38:1-100. |
|||||||||||
Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23. |
|||||||||||
Kremsater, L. et al. 1993. Status of the Shrew-mole in British Columbia, B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 26 pp. Working Report WR-55. |
|||||||||||
Maser, C., B. R. Mate, J. F. Franklin, and C. T. Dyrness. 1981. Natural history of Oregon coast mammals. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Expt. Sta., USDA, Forest Service, Gen Tech. Rep. PNW-133:1-496. |
|||||||||||
Nagorsen, D. and N. Panter. 2024. Shrews and Moles of British Columbia. Second Edition. Royal BC Museum Handbook. 239 pp. |
|||||||||||
van Zyll de Jong, C.G. 1983. Handbook of Canadian mammals. 1. Marsupials and insectivores. National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 210 pp. |
|||||||||||
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1993. Species Summary: Neurotrichus gibbsii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).