Tennessee mammals

Long-tailed Shrew in Tennessee

Sorex dispar

Native to Tennessee S2 Imperiled in Tennessee

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

AI-generated image: Long-tailed Shrew in side profile on moss-covered wet rocks. No public-domain 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: Long-tailed Shrew climbing mossy streamside boulders in side profile. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
AI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyLong-tailed Shrew in side profile on moss-covered wet rocksAI-generated image No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyLong-tailed Shrew climbing mossy streamside boulders in side profile

Long-tailed Shrew in Tennessee, by the numbers

Occasional in Tennessee 55th most recorded of 86 mammals logged in Tennessee

22 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

22 total records count every Tennessee occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 21; the monthly chart covers the 21 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Long-tailed Shrew in Tennessee

Most sightings fall in July to August.

21 Tennessee 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 Tennessee records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May0
June0
July6
August10
September2
October1
November2
December0

Monthly long-tailed shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Tennessee, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Shrew has been recorded in Tennessee

21 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

21 Tennessee records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
North Cherokee National Forest & Wildlife Management Area 15
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1

Protected places with the most long-tailed 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 Tennessee

CountyRecords
Carter County 20
Sevier County 1
Other localities 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 2 Tennessee counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Tennessee’s record for the long-tailed shrew is really a Roan Mountain story. Of the 22 reports on file for the state, 20 come from Carter County, most of them from the high country around the North Cherokee National Forest. That’s exactly the kind of cool, damp, high-elevation forest this shrew favors along the southern Appalachians, but the lopsided tally also shows where biologists have run traps. A blank county on the record isn’t proof of an empty one.

Reports run from June through November and bunch up in July and August, when summer survey work in the mountains peaks. Shrews stay active all year, so the summer crest says more about effort than about the animal.

NatureServe ranks the species S2, imperiled, in Tennessee even though it’s considered apparently secure rangewide. West Tennessee’s bottomland refuges look like promising ground on paper, but no confirmed reports have come from them; every Tennessee record so far hugs the state’s mountainous eastern edge.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

AI-generated image: Long-tailed Shrew in side profile on moss-covered wet rocks. No public-domain photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Full species profile Long-tailed Shrew Sorex dispar Size 6.6 cm2.6 in Weight 3–8 g0.1–0.3 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Tennessee 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"