The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.
The lesser white-toothed shrew is a tiny shrew with a widespread distribution in Africa, Asia and Europe. Its preferred habitat is scrub and gardens and it feeds on insects, arachnids, worms, gastropods, newts and small rodents, though its diet usually varies according to the biotope where it lives. The closely related Asian lesser white-toothed shrew was once included in this species, but is now considered to be a separate species.
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.
The São Tomé shrew is a white-toothed shrew about 3.0 in (7.6 cm) long found only on São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range. It was discovered in 1886. The population continues to decrease, making these animals rare. It is found only on São Tomé Island, a small island that is actually a shield volcano that rises out of the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
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 African dusky shrew or African foggy shrew is a species of shrew. It is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it lives in forests.
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 Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Sunda shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae found in Indonesia and Malaysia.
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".
Whitaker's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Western Sahara, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, rocky and sandy coasts. It is a fairly common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
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.
The Sumatran giant shrew is a shrew of the genus Crocidura. It is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it is found both in the rainforests to the west of the island and in the hillsides in the south and east. The shrew can be found up to approximately 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level but is most common at 1,500–1,800 metres (4,900–5,900 ft) above sea level.
The voracious shrew is a common and widespread species of shrew native to China, India, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The lesser Ryukyu shrew, or Watase's shrew is a common species of shrews that is endemic to Japan. It is often found living in bushes and grasslands along the river banks and in shrubs of lower elevations.
The Hainan Island shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae native to China and Vietnam. The IUCN has insufficient data to assess the level of population and its trend.
The Panay shrew is a species of shrew from the Philippines.
The Indochinese shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew native to Southeast Asia. It was first identified in 1922 by Herbert C. Robinson and C. Boden Kloss. The species is often taxonomized as a subspecies Horsfield's shrew, but bears a different range, occurring in Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Yunnan province of China. C. indochinensis is on the smaller end of shrews, with dark brownish gray fur and a long, slender tail.
The Phu Hoc shrew is a species of white-toothed shrew native to the island of Phú Quốc, Vietnam. The species was first described by Abramov et al. in 2008. The species' haplogroup is most closely related to the Southeast Asian shrew and C. dracula.
