Sorex alpinus
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English: Alpine shrew
German: Alpen spitzmaus
French: Musaraigne des montagnes
Spanish: Sorex del Alpes
Distribution areas
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The alpine shrew is found throughout
Europe and today also in North America.
Together with other similar species it
lives in forests and mountain areas with
the exception of higher altitudes and
northern territories.
The surface structure
Description of the fur of the skin, 300x
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The skin is from to 5 to 7 cm long and the tail about 5 cm. The hair coat
is thin and soft. The underfur layer is dark grey or black in colour, the
upper coat is red-grey on the back and grey on the belly. The thickness of
the coat is up to 5 mm.
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Sorex alpinus
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English: Alpine shrew
German: Alpen spitzmaus
French: Musaraigne des montagnes
Spanish: Sorex del Alpes
Structure of the hair
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The microscopic structure of the skin
surface is furrowed; the hair follicles are
narrow with straight edges, and on average
it contain only one hair shaft.
The fine fur fibres are elliptical in
cross-section, with a diameter of from 7 to Longitudinal section
11 µm. The cuticle is covered by the raised of a fine fur fibre, 3000x
petal-like scales with a smooth surface and
straight scale margins. The medulla is wide, unbroken, central symmetrical
-shaped and the overall structure is of the uniserial ladder type. The
medullary infilling substance is granular in detailed structure.
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Sorex alpinus
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English: Alpine shrew
German: Alpen spitzmaus
French: Musaraigne des montagnes
Spanish: Sorex del Alpes
The intermediate fibres have a diameter
of from 12 to 15 µm; the cross-section is
elliptical or straight-sided in outline.
The cuticular scales are petal-like with a
smooth scale surface and straight margins.
The medulla is wide, unbroken and central
symmetrical-shaped in cross-section. The
overall structure is of the uniserial
ladder type with a granular infilling The cuticular structure
substance. of the fine fibres, 2000x
The guard hair also have a circular or, in the upper part, a
dumb-bell-shaped, cross-section. The cuticular scales are of the crenated
tile-like type with the grooved surface and rippled scale margins. The
medulla is wide, unbroken and central symmetrical shaped in cross-section.
The overall medullary structure is of the uniserial ladder type with a
granular infilling material.
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Sorex alpinus
-------------
English: Alpine shrew
German: Alpen spitzmaus
French: Musaraigne des montagnes
Spanish: Sorex del Alpes
The cuticular structure
of the fine fibres, 2000x
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Sorex alpinus
-------------
English: Alpine shrew
German: Alpen spitzmaus
French: Musaraigne des montagnes
Spanish: Sorex del Alpes
The cuticular structure
of an intermediate hair, 4000x
Numerical code for alpine shrew skin structure
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Surface of the skin: 3-4-1
Fine fur fibres: 2-12-1-1-2-1-1-1-6-7.11-1.3
Intermediate fibres: 2.6-11-1-1-2-1-1-1-6-12.15-2.4
Guard hairs: 2.8-4-2-2-2-1-1-1-6-14.24-3.6
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