James S. Findley

“ I judge S. milleri to be a relict population of S. cinereus, isolated in the mountains of northeastern Mexico, probably in the late Pleistocene. Sorex cinereus reported from Pleistocene deposits in San Josecito Cave, Nuevo Leon (Findley, 1953:635) , probably represents a population ancestral to the modern S. milleri. Sorex milleri should retain specific status because of constant cranial differences from S. cinereus, particularly relatively broader rostrum.
LITERATURE CITED
Baker, R. H.
1953. ”

“ All three nominal species are relatively small, short-tailed shrews. The skulls of the three kinds resemble one another in relatively short rostrum and in dental details. Slight differences in cranial proportions differentiate the three and they should, until more specimens of each are obtained and studied, retain subspecific rank. The specific name, Sorex oreopolus Merriam 1892, should apply to the three kinds since it antedates the names ventralis and emarginatus. The two names last given, therefore, should stand as Sorex oreopolus ventralis Merriam and Sorex oreopolus emarginatus Jackson. ”

“ C. parva and C. micrura may intergrade but a distance of 140 miles separates the geographic ranges as now known of the two kinds and every specimen examined by me is clearly referable to one or the other of the two named kinds and shows no evidence of intergradation. ”