Order MarsupialiaFamily Didelphidae

• Marsupium (pouch) in females

Didelphis virginiana

http://www.animals-online

Didelphis virginiana: virginia opossumTimothy Stewart

Identification: pointed snout, white face, fur grizzled and coarse, naked tail, thumblike toe on hind foot (TL 35-94 cm; tail 21-47 cm)

Distribution: statewide

Habitat: rural, urban areas; limited by shelter

Diet: omnivorousIllustration credit: Olaus Murie

http://www.animals-online

Reproduction: 1 litter yearly of 4-20 poorly developed offspring; climb to teats in marsupium

Conservation status: range expanded north and east; numbers now stable

Other: nocturnal; lifespan 2 yrs

Didelphis virginiana

William J. Krause

References: Didelphis virginiana

Bowles, J.B., D.L. Howell, R.P. Lampe, and H.P. Whidden. 1998. Mammals of Iowa: holocene to the end of the 20th century. Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science 105:123-132.

Jackson, H.H.T. 1961. Mammals of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 504 pp.

Jones, J.K. and E.C. Birney. 1988. Handbook of mammals of the northcentral states. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 346 pp.

Kays, R. and D.E. Wilson. 2002. Mammals of North America. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 240 pp.

Order Insectivora

• Mouselike size, shape• Dorsal pelage dark• Tiny eyes, ears• Pointed nose• Small incisors, canines• Primarily carnivorous

Blarina spp.

Kays and Wilson (2002)

Onychomys leucogaster (Rodentia)

Lynx rufus (Carnivora)

Blarina brevicauda (Insectivora)

Incisors

Incisors

Canines

Molars

Incisors

Unicuspids Molars

Molars

Family Soricidae• Small front feet• Teeth (or tips) red-

brown• Active year round• May eat body weight

in food each day

Diet: mostly invertebrates; some vegetation, small vertebrates

Reproduction: 1 to many litters annually of 2-10

Cryptotis parva

Cryptotis parva teeth

Cryptotis parva: least shrewIdentification: small; tail

< 30% of head and body

Distribution: Loess Hills of southwest Iowa; a few scattered populations in east Iowa

Habitat: moist wooded areas; also grass, weeds, brush

Conservation status: “Threatened”

Loess Hills ecoregions

Blarina brevicauda: northern short-tailed shrew

Identification: large; tail < 30% of head and body; 48-50 chromosomes

Distribution: statewideHabitat: woodland,

grassland, wetlandConservation status:

abundant; numbers stable

Other: saliva with neurotoxin; important in food webs

Blarina hylophaga: Elliot’s short-tailed shrew

Identification: large; tail < 30% of head and body; 52 chromosomes

Distribution: extreme southwest Iowa

Habitat: see B. brevicauda

Conservation status: common; numbers stable

Kays and Wilson (2002)

Sorex cinereus: masked shrew

Identification: small; tail > 30% of head and body; 4 upper unicuspids visible

Distribution: statewide

Habitat: moist areas

Conservation status: common, but probably less abundant than Blarina brevicauda

Upper jaw (side view)

Sorex haydeni: prairie shrew

Identification: tail lacks black tip, otherwise like S. cinereus

Distribution: Loess Hills of west Iowa; scattered elsewhere

Habitat: prairie

Conservation status: common?

Other: hybridizes with S. cinereus (same species?) Upper jaw (side view)

Family Talpidae

• Large front feet• Fossorial

Scalopus aquaticus

Wildlife Forever (2003)

Scalopus aquaticus: eastern mole

Identification: large front feet, naked tail

Distribution: statewide

Habitat: underground burrows in loose soil

Diet: invertebrates

Reproduction: 1 litter, 2-5 offspring annually

Conservation status: abundant