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alpine shrewThis is an interesting and very important story. Until now the occurrence in the Pyrenees of the Alpine Shrew (Sorex alpinus) has been documented only by a few, rather old data (1878-1930) from the Spanish side of the mountains (three specimens). Since then it has been considered extinct (missing). However, this year (2021) I was lucky enough to find the pdf.file of a book about mammals of the NP Ordesa y Monte Perdido (Ferrer E.W., 2019: Mamíferos del Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido - Ediciones Prames S.L., Zaragoza, 267pp.) and, to my surprise, I saw on pages 58 and 244 photos of the Alpine Shrew, presented as an unknown species; this individual was caught in autumn 2012.
Being sufficiently familiar with this shrew species in the Czech Republic I can, without doubt, state that it is the Alpine Shrew. The external features are quite typical – uniform grey-black colouration, overlong tail, very small eyes, light "meat"-coloured feet, the shape of the head and rostrum etc. Also, other experts on this species agree with this view, e.g. R. Kraft (München) and V. Vohralík (Prague). Therefore, it is my belief that the recent occurrence of the Alpine Shrew in the Pyrenees can be proven. Based on this finding, the occurrence of its relict population(s) in the Pyrenees deserves more attention.

Attachment: two photos of „a mysterious“ shrew from the book about mammals of the NP Ordesa y Monte Perdido (© Fernando Carmena).

Miloš Andĕra, Czech Republic (EMMA 2 national coordinator)