short-tailed shrew

noun

North American shrew with tail less than half its body length

• Syn: ↑Blarina brevicauda

• Hypernyms: ↑shrew, ↑shrewmouse

• Member Holonyms: ↑Blarina, ↑genus Blarina

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noun

: any of several No. American shrews of Blarina or a related genus with dense usually gray or dark brown fur, a tail less than half the body length, often a toxic saliva, and in some cases scent glands on the sides which release a noxious secretion

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a grayish-black shrew, Blarina brevicauda, common in eastern North America, that has a tail less than half the length of the body. See illus. under shrew.

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short-tailed shrew,

a large, very common shrew found throughout the eastern half of the United States and into southern Canada; blarina.