Identification and distribution of the cinereus (Sorex cinereus) and prairie (Sorex haydeni) shrews on the northern Great Plains. Brian C. Bartels and Jerry R. Choate. Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS.

A study conducted in Canada in 1980 resulted in elevation of Sorex cinereus haydeni to the level of a distinct species. Both S. cinereus and S. haydeni supposedly occur on the Great Plains, and differentiating between the two based on external or cranial features at present is impossible. However, mtDNA has been used successfully to discriminate between the two species. I used mtDNA sequencing to identify 37 S. cinereus and 15 S. haydeni collected on the Great Plains. I intend to sequence mtDNA in sufficiently large samples of these shrews that I can use the genetically identified individuals as reference specimens for assessment of methods to distinguish these species based on size and morphology. I then will use Discriminant Function Analysis to determine the identity of all other specimens of these shrews in museums. This will enable me to map the precise geographic distributions of these species on the Great Plains and to interpret their biogeography. Using my methods, future researchers on the Great Plains will be able to identify specimens (live or preserved) that they obtain in their studies.