Michigan mammals

American pygmy shrew in Michigan

Sorex hoyi

Native to Michigan SU Unrankable in Michigan

Not listed as nonindigenous in Michigan by USGS NAS; native to its Michigan range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

American pygmy shrew crossing an asphalt pathAI-generated image: American pygmy shrew foraging in damp forest leaf litter. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: American pygmy shrew paused on green moss. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: Steven Joyner · CC BY 4.0American pygmy shrew crossing an asphalt pathAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAmerican pygmy shrew foraging in damp forest leaf litterAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAmerican pygmy shrew paused on green moss

American pygmy shrew in Michigan, by the numbers

Rare in Michigan 55th most recorded of 75 mammals logged in Michigan

115 occurrence records
5 with iNaturalist photos
Dec 27, 2022 Last seen in Michigan

Records from 2000–2026.

115 total records count every Michigan occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 111 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the American pygmy shrew in Michigan

Most sightings fall in June to August.

111 Michigan occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Michigan records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May0
June29
July24
August34
September20
October3
November0
December1

Monthly american pygmy shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Michigan, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Michigan, with recorded sightings peaking in June–August.

Occurrence map

Where American pygmy shrew has been recorded in Michigan

115 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

115 Michigan records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Atlanta State Forest Area 13
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 11
Gaylord State Forest Area 8
Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research Area 6
Dog Lake Flooding State Wildlife Management Area 6
Hiawatha National Forest 4
Ottawa National Forest 4
University of Michigan Biological Station 4

Protected places with the most american pygmy shrew sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Michigan

CountyRecords
Cheboygan County 26
Alger County 15
Iron County 12
Marquette County 7
Mackinac County 7
Roscommon County 6
Gogebic County 5
Otsego County 5
Kalkaska County 4
Emmet County 3
Dickinson County 3
Montmorency County 3
11 other counties 19

The complete county distribution, spread across 23 Michigan counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

American pygmy shrew, among the smallest mammals in North America at under a nickel’s weight, has just 5 iNaturalist records in Michigan against 115 from GBIF, almost all likely trapping or specimen data rather than sightings of a shrew too tiny and fast to spot by eye. Hiawatha National Forest and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore anchor the record.

NatureServe ranks the species SU, Unrankable, in Michigan, a status reserved for species too poorly surveyed to assign a confident conservation grade, not evidence of decline. Reports cluster from June through August with a smaller bump in October, a pattern shaped almost entirely by when small-mammal trapping projects happen to run.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

American pygmy shrew crossing an asphalt path
Full species profile American pygmy shrew Sorex hoyi Size 5–7 cm2–2.8 in Weight 2–5 g0.1–0.2 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Michigan in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"