The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae and Myosoricinae. In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies Limnoecinae, Crocidosoricinae, Allosoricinae and Heterosoricinae. These species are typically found in North America, northern South America, Europe and northern Asia. The enamel of the tips of their teeth is reddish due to iron pigment. The iron deposits serve to harden the enamel and are concentrated in those parts of the teeth most subject to wear. Members of the genera Chimarrogale, Nectogale, Neomys (Nectogalini) and some members of Sorex (Soricini) are known as water shrews, due to having a semi-aquatic lifestyle.
Myotragus is an extinct genus of goat-antelope in the tribe Caprini which lived on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca in the western Mediterranean until its extinction around 4,500 years ago. The fossil record of Myotragus on the Balearic Islands extends over 5 million years back to the early Pliocene on Mallorca, where it presumably arrived after the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
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.
Nuralagus is an extinct genus of leporid, with a single species, Nuralagus rex, described in 2011. It lived on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean during the Pliocene epoch. It is the largest known lagomorph to have ever existed, with an estimated weight of 8–12 kilograms (18–26 lb), nearly double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit. It likely went extinct at the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition when Mallorca and Menorca were united as one island, letting the mammalian fauna of Mallorca, including the goat-like ungulate Myotragus, colonize Nuralagus's habitat.
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.
Pliomys is an extinct genus of voles, subfamily Arvicolinae, tribe Pliomyini. The genus is known from fossils found across Europe. The earliest fossils date to the Early Pleistocene with one species, P. lenki, surviving to the end of the Late Pleistocene, until around 12,000 years ago in southern France and the Iberian Peninsula. Morphological evidence and DNA sequences obtained from P. lenki suggests that its closest living relative is the genus Dinaromys with a single species native to the Balkans, with P. lenki estimated to have diverged from Dinaromys around 4 million years ago. P. lenki was generally associated with cold and temperate conditions showing a range of climatic tolerance, though it appears to have only lived in open habitats and was intolerant of forest, with many specimens also found in hilly or mountainous environments.
Nectogalini is a tribe of Old World shrews within the family Soricidae. As of late 2007, it consisted of six extant genera and 25 species, with some of the latter being further divided into subspecies. Some, but not all members of the tribe are semiaquatic.
Asoriculus is an extinct genus of terrestrial shrews in the subfamily Soricinae and tribe Nectogalini, native to Europe and North Africa, from the Late Miocene until the late Holocene. The genus is closely related and possibly ancestral to the also recently-extinct Balearic shrews (Nesiotites), with their closest living relative being the Himalayan shrew.
Dolinasorex glyphodon was a species of giant venomous shrew that is now extinct. Remains of the animal were found at the Gran Dolina site, located in the Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain by researchers from the University of Zaragoza, Spain between 1991 and 2007. The deposit is estimated to be between 780,000 and 900,000 years old. D. glyphodon was the only species in the genus Dolinasorex.
Episoriculus is a genus of shrew in the red-toothed shrew subfamily. Its common is brown-toothed shrew. It has been described as a subgenus to Soriculus in the past. The genus occurs at a number of locations in Asia, including Nepal and China.
The Taiwanese brown-toothed shrew is a species of shrew in the tribe Nectogalini. It is found only in Taiwan. It prefers dense ground cover in forests and subalpine shrublands in high mountains of central Taiwan. Its placement in Episoriculus has been questioned, with genetic analysis finding that it is more basal within Nectogalini than other members of Episoriculus.
Hypolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph, first recorded in the Hemingfordian of North America. It entered Asia during the early Turolian and spread to Europe not much later, where it survived until the Middle Pleistocene. Though unknown in the Iberian Peninsula, fossils of this genus have been found in the Balearic Islands, suggesting an eastern migration during the dry period in the Mediterranean region known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis.
Hypnomys, otherwise known as Balearic giant dormice, is an extinct genus of dormouse (Gliridae) in the subfamily Leithiinae. Its species are considered examples of insular gigantism. They were endemic to the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean from the Early Pliocene until their extinction around the 3rd millennium BC. They first appeared in the fossil record on Mallorca during the Early Pliocene, presumably as a result to the evaporation of the Mediterranean sea during the Messinian salinity crisis connecting the Balearic Islands with mainland Europe. They later spread to Menorca, and a possible molar is also known from Ibiza. Hypnomys became extinct during the late Holocene likely shortly after human arrival on the Balearics. They were one of only three native land mammals to the islands at the time of human arrival, alongside the shrew Nesiotites and goat-antelope Myotragus.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2012, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
Talpa tyrrhenica, also known as the Tyrrhenian mole, is an extinct species of mole belonging to the genus Talpa. It was endemic to the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia during the Pleistocene epoch.
Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) henseli is an extinct species of vole belonging to the genus Microtus that was endemic to Sardinia and Corsica during the Pleistocene and Holocene.
Dopasia is a genus of lizards in the family Anguidae. The genus contains seven species, which are native to Asia. They are most closely related to the North American Ophisaurus, and are sometimes considered part of that genus.
Soriculus is a genus of shrew native to the Himalayas, the adjacent Hengduan Mountains and surrounding areas. There is generally only one recognised species, Soriculus nigrescens,, though in 2023 and 2024 additional living species of the genus were proposed.
Enhydrictis is a genus of extinct mustelid, belonging to the subfamily Galictinae. The type species, and best known, is Enhydrictis galictoides from the Pleistocene of Sardinia and Corsica. Some authors attribute species from mainland Eurasia to the genus, but this is disputed, with others considering the genus endemic to Sardinia-Corsica.
Crocidura kornfeldi is an extinct species of shrew that inhabited Central and Southern Europe between the Pliocene and Pleistocene. It is the first species of the widespread, extremely speciose genus Crocidura known with certainty to have colonized Europe. It is a widespread, well-documented species, with fossils known from Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and Crimea.
