Wisconsin mammals

American pygmy shrew in Wisconsin

Sorex hoyi

Native to Wisconsin S4 Apparently Secure in Wisconsin

Not listed as nonindigenous in Wisconsin by USGS NAS; native to its Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin, by the numbers

Occasional in Wisconsin 41st most recorded of 75 mammals logged in Wisconsin

61 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos
Mar 30, 2026 Last seen in Wisconsin

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the American pygmy shrew in Wisconsin

Most sightings fall in September.

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

Monthly Wisconsin records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February1
March1
April0
May1
June18
July4
August12
September22
October0
November0
December1

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Wisconsin, with recorded sightings peaking in September, with a smaller rise in June.

Occurrence map

Where American pygmy shrew has been recorded in Wisconsin

61 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

61 Wisconsin records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Nicolet National Forest 2
Governor Knowles State Forest 1

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 Wisconsin

CountyRecords
Taylor County 9
Buffalo County 8
Monroe County 7
Portage County 5
Wood County 4
Oneida County 3
Lincoln County 2
Dane County 2
Marathon County 2
Jackson County 2
Waukesha County 2
Juneau County 2
9 other counties 13

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 Wisconsin counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Wisconsin records associate the American Pygmy Shrew with wetland margins and moist ground cover represented by Horicon, Necedah, and the Upper Mississippi refuge. The sharpest record pulses occur in June and August–September, a pattern likely shaped by small-mammal trapping schedules and field access as well as by shrew activity.

Only 3 of the 61 Wisconsin records are from iNaturalist; most are GBIF records, underscoring how rarely this tiny shrew is found casually. These are records of detection, not abundance: trap placement, specimen collections, and the difficulty of identifying small shrews determine where dots appear on the map.

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 Wisconsin 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"