View source for Blarina

{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{about|the shrew|the fictional species from ''Star Wars''|List of Star Wars species (A–E)#Blarina}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = American short-tailed shrews<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 |id=13700341| pages = 269–270}}</ref>
| fossil_range = Late [[Pliocene]] to Recent
| image = southern short-tailed shrew.jpg
| image_caption = [[Southern short-tailed shrew]] (''Blarina carolinensis'')
| taxon = Blarina
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1838
| type_species = ''[[Northern short-tailed shrew|Corsira (Blarina) talpoides]]'' <ref name=msw3/>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = *''[[Northern short-tailed shrew|B. brevicauda]]''
*''[[Southern short-tailed shrew|B. carolinensis]]''
*''[[Elliot's short-tailed shrew|B. hylophaga]]''
*''[[Everglades short-tailed shrew|B. peninsulae]]''
*''[[Sherman's short-tailed shrew|B. shermani]]''
}}

The genus '''''Blarina''''', commonly called '''short-tailed shrews''', is a [[genus]] of relatively large [[Shrew (animal)|shrew]]s with relatively short tails found in North America. 

== Description ==
They have 32 teeth and are in the [[red-toothed shrew]] subfamily. They generally have dark fur and thick feet. The saliva of these [[venomous mammals|animals]] is toxic and is used to subdue prey.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kita M, Okumura Y, Ohdachi SD, Oba Y, Yoshikuni M, Nakamura Y, Kido H, Uemura D | title = Purification and characterisation of blarinasin, a new tissue kallikrein-like protease from the short-tailed shrew ''Blarina brevicauda'': comparative studies with blarina toxin | journal  =Biological Chemistry | volume = 386 | issue = 2 | pages = 177–82 |date=February 2005 | doi = 10.1515/BC.2005.022 | pmid = 15843162| hdl = 2115/7398 | s2cid = 2884850 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>

== Species ==
Species are:<ref name="msw3" />
*[[Northern short-tailed shrew]] ''B. brevicauda''
*[[Southern short-tailed shrew]] ''B. carolinensis''
*[[Elliot's short-tailed shrew]] ''B. hylophaga''
*[[Everglades short-tailed shrew]] ''B. peninsulae''
*[[Sherman's short-tailed shrew]] ''B. shermani;'' possibly [[Extinction|extinct]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Blarina shermani'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100006/Blarina_shermani |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=NatureServe Explorer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=''Blarina shermani'' Hamilton, 1955 |url=https://www.mammaldiversity.org/explore.html#genus=Blarina&species=shermani&id=1004124 |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=www.mammaldiversity.org}}</ref> 

== Ecoepidemiology ==
Short-tailed shrews are one of the animal reservoirs of the agents of [[Lyme disease]] and human [[babesiosis]].<ref>Telford III, S. R., Mather, T. N., Adler, G. H., & Spielman, A. (1990). ''Short-tailed shrews as reservoirs of the agents of Lyme disease and human babesiosis''. The Journal of parasitology, 681-683 ([https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3282982?uid=3738016&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103094817717 abstract])</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Eulipotyphla|S1.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q468813}}

[[Category:Blarina| ]]
[[Category:Mammal genera]]
[[Category:Animals that use echolocation]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]


{{redtoothed-shrew-stub}}