Sorex (Sorex) alpinus Schinz 1837

Sorex (Sorex) alpinus Schinz 1837, Neue Denkschr. Allgem. Schweiz. Gesell. Naturwiss. Neuchatel, Vol. 1: 13.

Type Locality: Switzerland, Canton Uri, St. Gotthard Pass.

Vernacular Names: Alpine Shrew.

Synonyms: Sorex (Sorex) hercynicus Miller 1909; Sorex (Sorex) intermedius Cornalia 1870; Sorex (Sorex) longobarda Sordelli 1899; Sorex (Sorex) tatricus Kratochvil and Rosicky 1952 .

Distribution: Montane forests of C Europe; including Pyrenees, Carpathians, Tatra, Sudeten, Harz, and Jura Mtns.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Sorex, S. alpinus group. Type species of subgenus Homalurus; see Hutterer (1982 b). Reviewed by Spitzenberger (1990 a). No clear subspecific variation; three karyotypic forms (2n = 54-58, FN = 68) have been described (Dannelid 1994; Lukácová et al. 1996). European range shown in Mitchell-Jones et al. (1999). Peripheral populations in the Pyrenees and the Harz Mtns (Gahsche, 1994) now probably extinct.