Sorex minutissimus Zimmermann, 1780 . Geogr. Gesch. Mensch. Vierf. Thiere, 2:385.

TYPE LOCALITY: "Yenisei"; given by Stroganov (1957:176) as "iz raiona sela Kiiskow chto na r. Kie (nyne g. Mariinsk Kemerovskoi oblasti)" [= Russia, Kemerovsk. Obi., Mariinsk (= Kiiskoe), bank of Kiia River (near Yenesei River)]; Restricted by Pavlinov and Rossolimo (1987:23) to "Krasnoyarskii kr., Krasnoyarsk."

DISTRIBUTION: Taiga zone from Norway, Sweden and Estonia to E Siberia; Sakhalin; Hokkaido, and perhaps Honshu (Japan); Mongolia; China; South Korea.

SYNONYMS: abnormis, barabensis, burneyi, czekanovskii, caudata, exilis, hawkeri, ishikawai, karelicus, minimus, neglectus, perminutus, stroganovi, tscherskii, tschuktschorum, ussuriensis.

COMMENTS: Subgenus Sorex or Eurosorex . Yoshiyuki (1988a) recognized nine subspecies.