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| Distribution |
In NC, it is limited to the mountains, with most records from the southern half of the province, though likely occurs over most of the province. Most records are from over 4,000 feet in elevation.
A very restricted range for a shrew, being limited strictly to the Appalachians, from the Canadian Maritimes and ME south into NC. |
| Abundance |
Rare in the southern and central mountains, and very rare to locally rare in the northern mountains, where very poorly known. It is currently listed by the N.C. Natural Heritage Program as Significantly Rare; though the current State Rank of S3 is perhaps suitable, a rarer rank of S2 or S2S3 might be more realistic. |
| Seasonal Occurrence |
Occurs year-round, presumably, but likely there has been little collecting effort in its restricted habitat during the winter season to determine its activity level at that season. |
| Habitat |
Quite restricted -- limited to forested areas with rocks, such as talus slopes, rocky areas on steep slopes, cliffs and caves with crevices/cavities, and occasionally along streams with rocky margins. These habitats are mostly in the higher elevations, rarely down to about 4,000 feet.
See also Habitat Account for General High Elevation Forests |
| Behavior |
Individuals are active day and night, foraging mainly within rock crevices. |
| Comments |
This species is often known as the Rock Shrew in many references, which is a much better name than Long-tailed Shrew. It has been difficult to collect with pitfall traps, as it spends much time deep in crevices where such cans are hard to place. Not surprisingly, accumulation of records has been slow, though the species is clearly quite limited in habitat, compared with other montane shrews. |
| Origin |
Native |
| NC List |
Official |
 State Rank |
S3 |
| State Status |
SR |
| Global Rank |
G4 |
| Federal Status |
|
| subspecies |
Cryptotis parva blitchi |
| other_comName |
Rock Shrew |
| synonym |
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