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Sorex preblei Jackson, 1922
Preble's Shrew
Family: Soricidae
Introduction to the Mammals of BC

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Introduction


Preble's Shrew is a species of shrew that is endemic to British Columbia and the western United States (from the Columbia Plateau to the northern Great Plains) (BC Conservation Data Centre 2011, Wikipedia 2011). It was first reported for Canada and British Columbia in 2002 from the southern Okanagan (Nagorsen et al. 2001). Three specimens that were captured during arthropod surveys in the 1990's were subsequently identified as this species. Nagorsen (2002) indicates that this species is "known from the southern Okanagan Valley and the Nicola Valley but may be more widespread in the intermontane grasslands of the province."

Nagorsen (2002) describes this species as "one of the smallest shrews in British Columbia with a brown dorsal pelage, silver-grey undersides, and a distinctly bicoloured tail." It is active throughout the year, and throughout the day (BC Conservation Data Centre 2011)

This species occupies a range of habitats from arid steppe-grassland to montane forests, riparian areas, and seasonally wet sagebrush communities (Nagorsen et al. 2001). "Sagebrush and Antelope Bush are often mentioned in habitat descriptions for this species" (Nagorsen et al. 2001).

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS1S2RedNot Listed



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Species References

British Columbia Conservation Data Centre. 2011 Sorex preblei species summary. Available online.

Nagorsen, David W. 2002. An Identification Manual to the Small Mammals of British Columbia. BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, and Royal BC Museum. 165 pp.

Nagorsen, David W., Geoffrey G. E. Scudder, David J. Huggard, Heather Stewart and Nick Panter. 2001. Merriam's Shrew, Sorex merriami, and Preble's Shrew, Sorex preblei, Two New Mammals for Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 115 (1): 1-8.

Wikipedia. 2011. Sorex preblei. Available online.

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