Remarks on the pelage of the Common Shrew (Sorex nraneus L.).

Abstract

SUMMARY Four hundred and nine skins of common shrews were preserved, of which sixty‐eight showed some stage of moulting. Examination of these specimens revealed that the shrew moults twice in its lifetime; in the autumn of the year of birth the juvenile coat is replaced by longer darker fur; a spring moult replaces the winter coat with shorter fur of the same colour. Thus adult common shrews are generally darker in colour than juveniles. Black pigment appears in the skin before moulting, and disappears as the hair grows. Fifty‐two per cent of the Wytham shrews had some white hairs upon the ears, and 20·9 per cent of males and 17·4 per cent of females possessed predominantly white ears, The scruff bore a scar or patch of white hairs in eleven animals, all of which were pregnant or parous females. The term “copulation scar” is suggested as a more suitable term than “grey patch”. White‐tipped tails were noted in 3.7 per cent of the skins, with a statistically significant correlation with female sex.