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Home/Species/ Mt. Lyell Shrew

Sorex lyelli

Merriam,1902

Mt. Lyell Shrew

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101253
Element CodeAMABA01020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderEulipotyphla
FamilySoricidae
GenusSorex
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/.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2013-07-20
Change Date2013-07-20
Edition Date2006-04-19
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G., and D. F. Williams
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 80
Rank Reasons
Known from a small area in the Sierra Nevada of California; probably much more widely distributed than known range suggests; not threatened.
Range Extent Comments
Until recently, the known range spanned a small area of the east-central Sierra Nevada, California, including areas in and around Yosemite National Park, at Mammoth Lakes, and in the Sweetwater Mountains, in Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Mono counties, at elevations of 6,900-10,350 feet (2,100-3,155 meters) (Howell 1924; Grinnell 1933; Hall 1981; Williams 1984; J. Dines, pers. comm., cited by Epanchin and Engilis 2009). In 2005, one was collected in Humphreys Basin, John Muir Wilderness Area, Sieera National forest, Fresno County, California, at an elevation of 3,630 meters (Epanchin and Engilis 2009). This shrew may possibly occur in similar habitat from Mono County to Modoc County, but the area outside the known range has not been adequately surveyed.
Occurrences Comments
As of 2009, this species was represented by 14 known distinct occurrences (counting closely adjacent locations as one occurrence) (see map in Epanchin and Engilis 2009). However, the habitat is remote, collecting methods are specialized, and relatively little collecting effort has been made, so it is likely that there are additional undocumented occurrences.
Threat Impact Comments
This shrew is unthreatened, largely due to remoteness of habitat and lack of commercial value.
Ecology & Habitat

Diagnostic Characteristics

See Carraway (1995) for a key to western North American soricids based primarily on dentaries.

Habitat

Specimens have been found primarily in wetland/riparian communities, in grassy/sedgy areas or under willows near streams, and less often in subalpine sagebrush thickets (Grinnell and Storer 1924, Grinnell 1933, Williams 1984, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology data). In 2005, one was caught along an alpine lakeshore well above treeline (Epanchin and Engilis 2009).
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousAlpine
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (2)
California (2)
AreaForestAcres
Horse Mdw.Inyo National Forest5,687
Log Cabin SaddlebagInyo National Forest15,165
References (18)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2025. Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.13) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. Available: https://www.mammaldiversity.org/
  2. Bradley, R.D., L.K. Ammerman, R.J. Baker, L.C. Bradley, J.A. Cook. R.C. Dowler, C. Jones, D.J. Schmidly, F.B. Stangl Jr., R.A. Van den Bussche and B. Würsig. 2014. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2014. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 327:1-28. Available at: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP327.pdf
  3. Buckner, C. H. 1969. Some aspects of the population ecology of the common shrew, <i>Sorex araneus</i>, near Oxford, England. Journal of Mammalogy 50:326-332.
  4. Carraway, L. N. 1995. A key to Recent Soricidae of the western United States and Canada based primarily on dentaries. Occasional Papers of the Natural History Museum, University of Kansas (175):1-49.
  5. Churchfield, S. 1992. The Natural History of Shrews. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. 192 pp.
  6. Epanchin, P. N., and A. Engilis, Jr. 2009. Mount Lyell shrew (<i>Sorex lyelli</i>) in the Sierra Nevada, California, with comments on alpine records of <i>Sorex</i>. Southwestern Naturalist 54:354-357.
  7. George, S. B. 1988. Systematics, historical biogeography, and evolution of the genus <i>Sorex</i>. J. Mammalogy 69:443-461.
  8. Grinnell, J. 1933. Review of the recent mammal fauna of California. University of California Publications in Zoology 40:71-234.
  9. Grinnell, J., and T. I. Storer. 1924. Animal life in the Yosemite. University of Califronia Press, Berkeley.
  10. Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I &amp; II. John Wiley &amp; Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
  11. Hawes, M. L. 1977. Home range, territoriality and ecological separation in sympatric shrews, <i>Sorex vagrans</i> and <i>Sorex obscurus</i>. Journal of Mammalogy. 58:354-367.
  12. Howell, A. B. The mammals of Mammoth, Mono County, California. Journal of Mammalogy 5:25-36.
  13. Ingles, L. G. 1961. Home range and habitats of the wandering shrew. Journal of Mammalogy 42:455-462.
  14. Jackson, H.H. 1928. A taxonomic review of the North Americanlong tailed shrews (genera Sorex and Microsorex). N. Amer. Fauna. 51:1-238.
  15. Jackson, H. H. 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 504 pp.
  16. NatureServe. Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. U.S.A. Online. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/
  17. Williams, D. F. 1984d. Habitat associations of some rare shrews (<i>Sorex</i>) from California. Journal of Mammalogy 65(2):325-328.
  18. 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/.