South Dakota mammals

Masked Shrew in South Dakota

Sorex cinereus

Native to South Dakota S5 Secure in South Dakota

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

Common in South Dakota 31st most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

93 occurrence records
1 with iNaturalist photos
Jan 27, 2021 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

93 total records count every South Dakota occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 90; the monthly chart covers the 89 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Masked Shrew in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in July.

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

Monthly South Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March0
April1
May2
June6
July55
August14
September0
October10
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in South Dakota, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Masked Shrew has been recorded in South Dakota

90 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

90 South Dakota records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Jewel Cave National Monument 6
Coxes-mirror Lakes 3
Black Elk Wilderness 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 South Dakota

CountyRecords
Pennington County 42
Bennett County 14
Lawrence County 13
Custer County 11
Brookings County 6
Codington County 1
Brown County 1
Clay County 1
Walworth County 1
Other localities 3

The complete county distribution, spread across 9 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Cinereus shrew is one of the most widely distributed mammals in North America, and its South Dakota records near Sand Lake and Waubay national wildlife refuges reflect the damp grassland and wetland-edge cover this tiny, constantly-feeding insectivore needs to survive its extremely high metabolism. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, statewide.

Records climb sharply and peak at 31 in July, likely tracking summer trapping-survey effort more than the shrew’s own activity, since it forages nonstop through every season regardless of weather.

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 South Dakota 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"