Rhode Island mammals

American water shrew in Rhode Island

Sorex palustris

Native to Rhode Island

Not listed as nonindigenous in Rhode Island by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Rhode Island 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 water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from aboveAmerican water shrew swimming just below the surface of Pebble CreekAmerican water shrew paddling across a shallow, foam-edged stream
Photo: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from abovePhoto: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew swimming in Pebble Creek, Yellowstone National ParkPhoto: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew crossing a foam-edged stretch of Pebble Creek

American water shrew in Rhode Island, by the numbers

Occasional in Rhode Island 30th most recorded of 72 mammals logged in Rhode Island

25 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the American water shrew in Rhode Island

Most sightings fall in July to August.

25 Rhode Island occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Rhode Island records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May2
June2
July10
August9
September2
October0
November0
December0

Monthly american water shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Rhode Island, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Rhode Island, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where American water shrew has been recorded in Rhode Island

25 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

25 Rhode Island records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Lafayette Hatchery 4

Protected places with the most american water 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 Rhode Island

CountyRecords
Providence County 9
Washington County 9
Newport County 4
Kent County 3

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 Rhode Island counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Rhode Island has 25 American water shrew records in this 2000–2026 overlay, all from GBIF. July and August contribute 19 records between them, while the monthly series is empty from January through April and again from October through December. The entries document observations, not the number of shrews in the state.

Ninigret, Trustom Pond, and Block Island national wildlife refuges are the three locations carried by the overlay. The narrow summer-heavy record and lack of iNaturalist observations make those places starting points for looking, not a measured range.

American water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from above
Full species profile American water shrew Sorex palustris Size 8 cm3.1 in Weight 8–18 g0.3–0.6 oz Lifespan Up to 1.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Rhode Island 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
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"