Indiana mammals

Masked Shrew in Indiana

Sorex cinereus

Native to Indiana S4 Apparently Secure in Indiana

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

Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 1Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 2Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 3Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 4Sorex cinereus, Billings National Historical Park, Woodstock, Vermont, USA 1Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus)
Photo: rpoort · CC BY 4.0Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 1Photo: rpoort · CC BY 4.0Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 2Photo: rpoort · CC BY 4.0Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 3Photo: rpoort · CC BY 4.0Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 4Photo: er-birds · CC BY 4.0Sorex cinereus, Billings National Historical Park, Woodstock, Vermont, USA 1Photo: Sean Frey · CC BY 4.0Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus)

Masked Shrew in Indiana, by the numbers

Occasional in Indiana 32nd most recorded of 74 mammals logged in Indiana

45 occurrence records
31 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Masked Shrew in Indiana

Most sightings fall in March to May.

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

Monthly Indiana records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February2
March5
April5
May7
June2
July7
August1
September3
October5
November4
December3

Monthly masked shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Indiana, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Indiana, with recorded sightings peaking in March–May, with a smaller rise in July and October.

Occurrence map

Where Masked Shrew has been recorded in Indiana

45 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

45 Indiana records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Indiana Dunes National Park 5
Pigeon River Fish And Wildlife Area 1
Willow Slough Fish And Wildlife Area 1

Protected places with the most masked 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 Indiana

CountyRecords
Porter County 9
Lake County 7
Allen County 5
Monroe County 4
Tippecanoe County 3
Marion County 2
LaPorte County 2
Knox County 2
Miami County 1
Hamilton County 1
Wayne County 1
Steuben County 1
7 other counties 7

The complete county distribution, spread across 19 Indiana counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Cinereus shrews, also called masked shrews, are among the smallest mammals in Indiana, and their metabolism runs so fast they have to hunt insects and other invertebrates almost constantly to survive. Records cluster around Kankakee Sands and the state’s remaining prairie preserves, where deep leaf litter and thick grass give this shrew the moist ground cover it tunnels through.

Reports show three bumps rather than one clean peak, May, July, and a stretch through October and November, with only a handful in the leanest months. That scattered pattern likely tracks breeding and dispersal activity more than any single season of highest abundance, since this species stays active underground year-round rather than hibernating. NatureServe ranks it S4, apparently secure, in Indiana.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Sorex cinereus, Harwich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada 1
Full species profile Masked Shrew Sorex cinereus Size 6.9 cm2.7 in Weight 5 g0.2 oz Lifespan Up to 2.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Indiana 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"