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POST-PARTURITIONAL CONCEPTION IN CAPTIVE MUSK SHREWS, SUNCUS MURINUS

Copulation occurring immediately after parturition was observed in captive musk shrews, Suncus murinus, and lactation was noted in wild shrews during preimplantation (Dryden, 1969). Parturition intervals and the timing of second litters after the death of the previous litter in permanently paired shrews, however, indicated that mating did not invariably occur immediately after parturition. This interpretation was supported by a few instances in which copulation and conception occurred several days after loss of the nestling young but these data were insufficient to establish whether receptivity after parturition and ability to conceive were continuous in this species.

Incidental to collecting nestling musk shrews and re-mating their mothers, data were obtained which pertain to this question. One hundred litters of nestlings were removed at various times after birth