One of the smallest mammals on the continent, the American pygmy shrew is also one of the hardest to document, and Montana’s 10 records reflect that: all from GBIF survey and specimen work, none from iNaturalist, since a shrew this size and this fast rarely holds still for a photograph. Many records anywhere in its range come from trapping projects or owl-pellet remains rather than live sightings.
They all fall between June and September, with 4 in August, which reflects the summer trapping season rather than a sign the shrew is scarce the rest of the year. A metabolism this fast means it has to keep hunting through every season, including under snow in winter. Montana has no NatureServe subnational rank on file for this species, which is common for a mammal this cryptic and rarely surveyed; federal wildlife records simply confirm it’s native to its mapped Montana range, not introduced.
Full species profile
