Publications

structural and functional characterization of enamel pigmentation in shrews.	pigmented tooth enamel occurs in several vertebrate clades, ranging from mammals to fish. although an iron compound is associated with this orange to red colored pigmentation, its chemical and structural organization within the enamel is unknown. to determine the nature of the iron compound, we investigated heavily pigmented teeth of the northern short-tailed shrew blarina brevicauda using combined characterization techniques such as scanning and transmission electron microscopy and synchrotron ...	2014	24556576
ecological risk assessment for mink and short-tailed shrew exposed to pcbs, dioxins, and furans in the housatonic river area.	a probabilistic risk assessment was conducted to characterize risks to a representative piscivorous mammal (mink, mustela vison) and a representative carnivorous mammal (short-tailed shrew, blarina brevicauda) exposed to pcbs, dioxins, and furans in the housatonic river area downstream of the general electric (ge) facility in pittsfield, massachusetts. contaminant exposure was estimated using a probabilistic total daily intake model and parameterized using life history information of each specie ...	2016	25976918
a synopsis of records of myxozoan parasites (cnidaria: myxozoa) from shrews, with additional data on soricimyxum fegati from common shrew sorex araneus in hungary and pygmy shrew sorex minutus in slovakia.	myxozoans (cnidaria: myxozoa) are almost exclusively endoparasites of aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates, with the notable exception being two species of soricimyxum prunescu, prunescu, pucek et lom, 2007 described from terrestrial shrews (soricidae) in central europe. myxospores of the two parasites are morphologically indistinguishable, but have ssu rdna sequences that differ by about 4%. herein, we report additional molecular and histology data from soricimyxum fegati prunescu, prunescu, p ...	2016	27312127
the crouching of the shrew: mechanical consequences of limb posture in small mammals.	an important trend in the early evolution of mammals was the shift from a sprawling stance, whereby the legs are held in a more abducted position, to a parasagittal one, in which the legs extend more downward. after that transition, many mammals shifted from a crouching stance to a more upright one. it is hypothesized that one consequence of these transitions was a decrease in the total mechanical power required for locomotion, because side-to-side accelerations of the body have become smaller, ...	2016	27413633
quantifying dilution and amplification in a community of hosts for tick-borne pathogens.	recent controversy over whether biodiversity reduces disease risk (dilution effect) has focused on the ecology of lyme disease, a tick-borne zoonosis. a criticism of the dilution effect is that increasing host species richness might amplify disease risk, assuming that total host abundance, and therefore feeding opportunities for ticks, increase with species richness. in contrast, a dilution effect is expected when poor quality hosts for ticks and pathogens (dilution hosts) divert tick blood meal ...	2016	27209790
the complete mitogenome of asiatic short-tailed shrew blarinella quadraticauda (soricidae).	the asiatic short-tailed shrew, blarinella quadraticauda, is an endemic shrew to china, and is only distributed in sichuan. in this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of b. quadraticauda was determined. the mitogenome is 17,014 base pairs in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal rna genes, 22 transfer rna genes and 1 control region, with a base composition of 33.3 % a, 31.8% t, 22.3% c and 12.6% g. this study contributes to illuminating taxonomic status of the a ...	2016	24660918
unexpectedly high genetic diversity of the asiatic short-tailed shrews blarinella (mammalia, lipotyphla, soricidae).	genetic diversity of the genus blarinella was studied using one mitochondrial and four nuclear genes as examples. the first genotyping of shrews from the southeast of gansu province (china), which is a typical habitat of b. griselda, has been performed. molecular genetic analysis showed that blarinella sp. from southern gansu stand apart among the other representatives of the genus and can be assigned to neither of the known species.	2017	28702725
a new eimerian (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) from southern short-tailed shrews, blarina carolinensis (bachman) (soricimorpha: soricidae: soricinae) from southeastern oklahoma, usa.	a new species of eimeria schneider, 1875 (apicomplexa: eimeriidae) is described from faecal samples of two of three southern short-tailed shrews, blarina carolinensis (bachman) (soricidae) from southeastern oklahoma, usa. oöcysts of eimeria tkachi n. sp. are subspheroidal to ovoidal with a rough-pitted, tan colored, bi-layered wall, measure 16.5 × 15.2 µm, and have a length/width (l/w) ratio of 1.1; both micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but polar granule(s) are present. sporocysts are o ...	2017	28534208
evaluation of the physiological activity of venom from the eurasian water shrewneomys fodiens.	animal toxins can have medical and therapeutic applications. principally, toxins produced by insects, arachnids, snakes and frogs have been characterized. venomous mammals are rare, and their venoms have not been comprehensively investigated. among shrews, only the venom ofblarina brevicaudahas been analysed so far, and blarina toxin has been proven to be its main toxic component. it is assumed thatneomys fodiensemploys its venom to hunt larger prey. however, the toxic profile, properties and mo ...	2017	29026428
the pineal gland of the shrew (blarina brevicauda and blarina carolinensis): a light and electron microscopic study of pinealocytes.	the pineal gland structure and ultrastructure in the northern (blarina brevicauda) and southern short-tailed shrew (blarina carolinensis) are described by light and electron microscopy. results observed were similar to other mammals of insectivora described previously, specifically, the hedgehog (erinaceus europaeus) and the old world mole (talpa europea). two different types of pinealocytes were noticed by electron microscopy, in addition to relatively few glial cells. granular vesicles were no ...	2018	30088080
sex-based differences in anti-predator response of crickets to chemical cues of a mammalian predator.	anti-predator behaviors like vigilance or hiding come at the expense of other fitness increasing behaviors such as foraging. to compensate for this trade-off, prey assess predation risk and modify the frequency of anti-predator behaviors according to the likelihood of the threat. in this study, we tested the ability of house crickets (acheta domesticus) to indirectly assess predation risk via odors from a mammalian predator, elliot's short-tailed shrew (blarina hylophaga). as natural differences ...	2018	29910976
a new genus of asiatic short-tailed shrew (soricidae, eulipotyphla) based on molecular and morphological comparisons.	blarinellini is a tribe of soricine shrews comprised of nine fossil genera and one extant genus. blarinelline shrews were once widely distributed throughout eurasia and north america, though only members of the asiatic short-tailed shrew genus blarinella currently persist (mostly in southwestern china and adjacent areas). only three forms of blarinella have been recognized as either species or subspecies. however, recent molecular studies indicated a strikingly deep divergence within the genus, ...	2018	29976842
who are you, griselda? a replacement name for a new genus of the asiatic short-tailed shrews (mammalia, eulipotyphla, soricidae): molecular and morphological analyses with the discussion of tribal affinities.	the first genetic study of the holotype of the gansu short-tailed shrew, blarinella griselda thomas, 1912, is presented. the mitochondrial analysis demonstrated that the type specimen of b. griselda is close to several recently collected specimens from southern gansu, northern sichuan and shaanxi, which are highly distinct from the two species of asiatic short-tailed shrews of southern sichuan, yunnan, and vietnam, b. quadraticauda and b. wardi. our analysis of four nuclear genes supported the p ...	2019	31754323
protocol for the reconstruction of micromammals from fossils. two case studies: the skulls of beremendia fissidens and dolinasorex glyphodon.	we have developed a protocol for reconstructing 3d models of the skulls of extinct species of small mammals. for the first time, the reconstruction uses fragments of fossils from a mixture of different specimens and from related extant species. we use free software and commercial computers to make the process reproducible and usable for the scientific community. we present a semi-quantitative protocol to face the problem of making 3d reconstructions of fossil species that are incomplete in the f ...	2019	30893322
reassortment between divergent strains of camp ripley virus (hantaviridae) in the northern short-tailed shrew (blarina brevicauda).	genomic reassortment of segmented rna virus strains is an important evolutionary mechanism that can generate novel viruses with profound effects on human and animal health, such as the h1n1 influenza pandemic in 2009 arising from reassortment of two swine influenza viruses. reassortment is not restricted to influenza virus and has been shown to occur in members of the order bunyavirales. the majority of reassortment events occurs between closely related lineages purportedly due to molecular cons ...	2020	33014888
a comprehensive multi-omic approach reveals a relatively simple venom in a diet generalist, the northern short-tailed shrew, blarina brevicauda.	animals that use venom to feed on a wide diversity of prey may evolve a complex mixture of toxins to target a variety of physiological processes and prey-defense mechanisms. blarina brevicauda, the northern short-tailed shrew, is one of few venomous mammals, and is also known to eat evolutionarily divergent prey. despite their complex diet, earlier proteomic and transcriptomic studies of this shrew's venom have only identified two venom proteins. here, we investigated with comprehensive molecula ...	2020	32520994