South Dakota mammals

Prairie Shrew in South Dakota

Sorex haydeni

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.

AI-generated image: Prairie Shrew foraging in shortgrass prairie ground litter. 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 accuracy.Prairie Shrew foraging in shortgrass prairie ground litter

Prairie Shrew in South Dakota, by the numbers

Rare in South Dakota 80th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in South Dakota

1 occurrence records
1 with iNaturalist photos
Sep 20, 2020 Last seen in South Dakota

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Prairie Shrew in South Dakota

Most sightings fall in September.

1 South Dakota 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 South Dakota records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April0
May0
June0
July0
August0
September1
October0
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in South Dakota; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Prairie Shrew has been recorded in South Dakota

1 record mapped · zoom and drag to explore

1 South Dakota record mapped

Where it's recorded in South Dakota

CountyRecords
Sanborn County 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 South Dakota counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

South Dakota is paradox country for the prairie shrew. The state’s specimen record is one of the deepest anywhere, more than 350 entries through GBIF. Yet only one of those records carries a usable date in the current set. The county-by-county and place-by-place picture is blank. NatureServe, working from fuller specimen files, ranks the species secure in the state. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern rangewide.

What can be said plainly: the prairie shrew is a documented, long-standing South Dakota resident. It’s tied to the grassland and meadow edges that still cover much of the state, from the glaciated east toward the Missouri River breaks. The recent end of the record is quiet, though. The latest dated observation is from September 2020. Fresh, dated, photo-vouchered reports are the one thing this species’ South Dakota account needs most.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Prairie Shrew in other states

AI-generated image: Prairie Shrew foraging in shortgrass prairie ground litter. 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 Prairie Shrew Sorex haydeni Size 7–10 cm2.8–3.9 in Weight 3–6 g0.1–0.2 oz 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