Species group · Mammals
Shrews
WAnimals has 10 species of shrew, spread across 3 families (Macroscelididae, Soricidae, Tupaiidae).
- 10 species
- 3 families
- 104 countries
- 262 parks
- Weight
- 3 g – 750 g
- Length
- 5.5 cm – 31 cm
- Lifespan
- 1 – 10 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 10.
All 10 species of shrews on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Eurasian Common Shrew
Sorex araneus
Common Treeshrew
Tupaia glis
Greater White-toothed Shrew
Crocidura russula
Four-toed Sengi
Petrodromus tetradactylus
Lesser Treeshrew
Tupaia minor
Rufous Elephant Shrew
Elephantulus rufescens
Karoo Round-eared Sengi
Macroscelides proboscideus
Cinereus Shrew
Sorex cinereus
Canary Shrew
Crocidura canariensis
Black and Rufous Sengi
Rhynchocyon petersi
Conservation status
1 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 104 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
Its saliva is toxic and helps subdue its prey.
It eats almost its own body weight in food every day.
Its whole life cycle lasts barely more than a year.
It is widely used as a biomedical research model because it is so closely related to the primates.
From Common Treeshrew
It eats fallen fruit, seeds, leaves and insects such as ants and spiders.
From Common Treeshrew
It reaches sexual maturity at 3 months, among the earliest of any placental mammal.
From Common Treeshrew
It has to eat roughly its own body weight every day; a few hours without food can be enough to starve it.
When the young leave the nest they form a caravan: each one bites the base of the tail of the one in front and the mother leads the line, so that the group moves like a train.