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Identification And Distribution Of Masked And Hayden's Shrews (Genus Sorex) In Iowa, Howard P. Whidden, Alison W. Ray, John B. Bowles
Identification And Distribution Of Masked And Hayden's Shrews (Genus Sorex) In Iowa, Howard P. Whidden, Alison W. Ray, John B. Bowles
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
Masked shrews (Sorex cinereus) and Hayden's shrews (S. haydeni) are both reported from Iowa, but the two species are difficult to tell apart and their relative distributions in Iowa have been unclear. We took 13 skull measurements and examined 2 qualitative features on more than 300 specimens of Sorex from Iowa. The vast majority of our specimens could be identified easily by cranial measurements, and more than half could be identified by the relative position of the maxillary plate. We found no evidence for intergradation between the two species. Masked shrews are present throughout most of Iowa, whereas Hayden's shrews …
Mammals Of Iowa: Holocene To The End Of The 20th Century, John B. Bowles, Daryl L. Howell, Richard P. Lampe, Howard P. Whidden
Mammals Of Iowa: Holocene To The End Of The 20th Century, John B. Bowles, Daryl L. Howell, Richard P. Lampe, Howard P. Whidden
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
This review of Iowa's mammal fauna at the close of the 20th century summarizes changes in distributional patterns following Euroamerican settlement in the early 1800s. Data from historical records, museum specimens, and presettlement late Holocene fossils indicate presence of 69 resident mammals at that time. Hunting pressures and the conversion of prairie and forest to agricultural fields reduced the populations and ranges of many state mammals, and 14 species were extirpated by 1900. An additional 15 species are either uncommon or rare today, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources lists four species as endangered, three as threatened and one …