American Pygmy Shrew, Sorex hoyi, Consumed by an Arctic Grayling, Thymallus arcticus
2011 ◽
Vol 125
(3)
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pp. 255
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Keyword(s):
The Body
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Arctic Grayling, Thymallus arcticus, are rarely reported to consume small mammals. We report an American Pygmy Shrew, Sorex hoyi, consumed by an Arctic Grayling caught in southern Yukon, Canada. This is the first record of an American Pygmy Shrew being consumed by an Arctic Grayling, and it confirms that Arctic Grayling will consume shrews (Sorex spp.) when they are available. We suspect that the body size of prey is a limiting factor in Arctic Grayling consuming small mammals, with some species of shrews being small enough for Arctic Grayling to consume.