The Andaman Islands are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about 130 km (81 mi) southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. Most of the islands are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a Union Territory of India, while the Coco Islands and Preparis Island are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar.
The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.
The greater white-toothed shrew is a small insectivorous mammal found in Europe and North Africa. It is the most common of the white-toothed shrews. This species is found along the Mediterranean, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Portugal; in addition, the Osorio shrew of the Canary island of Gran Canaria, originally described as a separate species, was later discovered to be a population of introduced greater white-toothed shrew. Furthermore, a subspecies of the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula ibicensis, is found on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. In April 2008, the greater white-toothed shrew was discovered in Ireland as well. Its preferred habitats are grassland and woodland. It is slightly larger than the lesser white-toothed shrew but otherwise very similar and can often be distinguished only by close inspection of its teeth which are unpigmented.
Narcondam, India's easternmost island, is a small volcanic island located in the northern Andaman Sea. The island's peak rises to 710 m above mean sea level, and it is formed of andesite. It is part of the Andaman Islands, the main body of which lie approximately 74 km (46 mi) to the west.The island is part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island is small, covering an area of approximately 7.6 square kilometres. It was classified as a dormant volcano by the Geological Survey of India.
The genus Crocidura is one of nine genera of the shrew subfamily Crocidurinae. Members of the genus are commonly called white-toothed shrews or musk shrews, although both also apply to all of the species in the subfamily. With over 180 species, Crocidura contains the most species of any mammal genus. The name Crocidura means "woolly tail", because the tail of Crocidura species are covered in short hairs interspersed with longer ones.
The Cyrenaica shrew or Alexander's shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae which is endemic to Libya.
Ansell's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Bates's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This large black shrew was first described by the British zoologist Guy Dollman in 1915, the type locality being the vicinity of the Como River in Gabon. The exact definition of this species is unclear; it is often included in Fraser's musk shrew, or reported as Wimmer's shrew. Its karyotype is 2n=50, FN-76, which is identical to the Nigerian shrew, and the species complex is in need of a thorough revision.
The Canarian shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the Canary Islands, specifically the eastern islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Lobos, and Mount Clara. It used to be found on Graciosa, Canary Islands and Alegranza. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Crosse's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The Andaman spiny shrew or Andaman shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to India. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Jenkins's shrew is a critically endangered species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to South Andaman Island in India.
The Sulawesi shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the central and northern provinces of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a fairly common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The black-footed shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to northern and central Sulawesi, Indonesia where it lives on the floor of the tropical forests. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Sulawesi white-handed shrew or Temboan shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a fairly common species and the population seems stable so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Cretan shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Crete, Greece. Its natural habitat is temperate shrubland, and the animal is threatened by habitat loss. It is found in the mountainous highlands of Crete, having been displaced from lower altitudes by the lesser white-toothed shrew.
The Christmas Island shrew, also known as the Christmas Island musk-shrew is an extremely rare or possibly extinct shrew from Christmas Island. It was variously placed as subspecies of the Asian gray shrew or the Southeast Asian shrew, but morphological differences and the large distance between the species indicate that it is an entirely distinct species.
Crocidura hikmiya is a species of shrew described from the rainforests of Sri Lanka, based on both morphological and molecular data. Its closest sister species is the Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew, another Sri Lankan crocidurine shrew restricted to the high-elevation habitats of the Central Highlands. C. hikmiya has a shorter tail than the Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew. Most of the other characteristics that distinguish the two species are osteological natured .
The Narcondam shrew is a white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Narcondam Island, a small, remote, volcanic island situated in Andaman Sea and considered part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. It was discovered in April 2020 and was described about a year later in 2021.
