The smoky shrew is primarily a northern, and mountain, species. They are found at all elevations in the park. Streamsides are favored, both in evergreen and deciduous forests. The smoky shrew lives in extensive burrows in the leaf mold of the forest floor, and are active in even the coldest weather. They constantly twitter as they forage.

Species Measurements:
- Adult Total Length: 100-125 mm (4-5 in.)
- Tail: 37-50 mm (1?-2 in.)
- Hind Foot: 12-15 mm (? in.)
- Weight: 3-6 g (1/10-1/5 oz.)

Physical Characteristics:
During the summer, the smoky shrew is a medium-sized, uniformly dull brown. During the winter, the pelage of the smoky shrew is usually a uniform gray. The bicolored tail is brownish above and yellowish below. Shrews possess long tapering snouts, and tiny eyes and ears. Hearing and smelling are acute. The tips of the incisor teeth are dark chestnut in color. Shrews have five toes on each foot.

Habitat:
Streamsides are favored, both in evergreen and deciduous forests. This species accounted for 12.6% of all small mammals captured in a study in the spruce-fir forest (Smith and Mouzon, 1985). The smoky shrew is near the southern limit of its range in the park.

Reproduction:
Two or three litters of three to seven young are produced during the female's second year of life. The young are born in a nest of shredded vegetation located in a stump, or beneath a log or rock.

Pregnant and/or nursing females have been recorded in the park from March 30 through October 12. "Reproductively active" smoky shrews were recorded from mid-August through September in the spruce-fir region (Smith and Mouzon, 1985).

Longevity:
N/A

Terrestrial Ecology:
The smoky shrew lives in extensive burrows in the leaf mold of the forest floor, and are active in even the coldest weather. They constantly twitter as they forage.

Feeding Habits:
Stomach analyses of three females taken at 2,400 feet in Cosby (Cocke Co.) during June and July revealed millipedes and arachnids comprising 98.6% of the total volume of food (Linzey and Linzey, 1973). The stomachs also contained a small amount of the fungus Endogone (0.7% volume).

The home range of shrews probably covers an area of ? to 1 acre.

Predators and Defense:
Predators include snakes, owls, hawks, and carnivorous mammals such as opossums, foxes, bobcats, weasels, and skunks.

Parasites:
None recorded from the park.

The smoky shrew is primarily a northern, and mountain, species and is found throughout the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia, and west to central Ohio and Kentucky.

Smoky shrews are found at all elevations in the park. They are most abundant in cool, damp woodlands with a deep layer of leaf mold on the ground.

References:

Komarek, E. V. and R. Komarek. 1938. Mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Science 5(6): 137-162.

Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1): 1-81.

Linzey, D. W. 1998. The Mammals of Virginia. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Linzey, D. W. and A.V. Linzey. 1973. Notes on Food of Small Mammals from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee-North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 89 (1 and 2): 6-14.

Owen, J.G. 1984. Sorex fumeus. Mammalian Species No. 215: 1-8. American Society of Mammalogists.

Smith, T.R. and J.M. Mouzon. 1985. Small Mammal Survey in the Spruce-Fir Zone of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Typewritten final research report. In library of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Whitaker, J.O., Jr. 1999. Smoky Shrew. Pages 22-23. In: Wilson, D.E. and S. Ruff (editors). The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.