Shrews are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different families or orders.
In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations that were thought to be extinct, and are rediscovered. The term Lazarus taxon was coined by Karl W. Flessa and David Jablonski in 1983 and was then expanded by Jablonski in 1986. Paul Wignall and Michael Benton defined Lazarus taxa as, "At times of biotic crisis many taxa go extinct, but others only temporarily disappeared from the fossil record, often for intervals measured in millions of years, before reappearing unchanged". Earlier work also supports the concept though without using the name Lazarus taxon, like work by Christopher R. C. Paul.
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.
Crawford's gray shrew, also known as the desert shrew, is a small shrew found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a member of the family Soricidae of the order Eulipotyphla. It was the only known member of the genus Notiosorex until two species, N. villai distributed in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and N. evotis distributed along the northwest coast of Mexico, were named. A fourth distinct species, N. cockrumi, was discovered in Arizona and named in 2004.
The Puerto Rican nesophontes, or Puerto Rican shrew, is an extinct eulipotyphlan endemic to Puerto Rico.
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.
Nesophontes, sometimes called West Indies shrews, is the sole genus of the extinct, monotypic mammal family Nesophontidae in the order Eulipotyphla. These animals were small insectivores, about 5 to 15 cm long, with a long slender snout and head and a long tail. They were endemic to the Greater Antilles, in Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands.
Notiosorex cockrumi, also called Cockrum's gray shrew or Cockrum's desert shrew, is a tiny species of shrews named in 2003. This red-toothed shrew, which is as light as a penny, is the first new mammal species from Arizona since 1977. Its range extends from Arizona to central Sonora, Mexico.
Notiosorex is a genus of shrew from the subfamily Soricinae.
The large-eared gray shrew is a species of shrew.
Villa's gray shrew is a shrew native to northeastern Mexico, where it is called musaraña.
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.
Santanachelys gaffneyi is an extinct species of sea turtle. It is the only species in the genus Santanachelys, which itself is a member of the extinct family Protostegidae. The species was first described from a 20-centimeter long fossil specimen unearthed in 1998 from the Santana Formation of eastern Brazil. From the rock layer from which it was excavated, it was determined that the specimen was from the Early Cretaceous period. It is therefore one of the oldest known sea turtles. but a new fossil named Desmatochelyspadillai in 2015 is estimated to be as old as 120 million years.
The Andean caenolestid, also known as the Andean shrew opossum or Condor caenolestid, is a shrew opossum known only from Cordillera del Cóndor (Ecuador), its type locality. It was first described by zoologists Bruce D. Patterson and Luis Albuja in 1996. It is the largest caenolestid. The IUCN classifies it as vulnerable. As of 2015, the population is estimated at less than 1,000.
Nelson's small-eared shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to eastern Mexico.
In biogeography and paleontology, a relict is a population or taxon of organisms that was more widespread or more diverse in the past. A relictual population is a population currently inhabiting a restricted area whose range was far wider during a previous geologic epoch. Similarly, a relictual taxon is a taxon which is the sole surviving representative of a formerly diverse group.
Soriculus is a genus of shrew native to Asia. Along with several fossil species, the only extant member of the genus is the Himalayan shrew, as other extant species have now been transferred to other genera.
Notiosoricini, whose members are known as the North American gray shrews, is a tribe of shrews in the family Soricidae, including the genera Megasorex and Notiosorex. They are found across the southwestern United States and most of Mexico.
Notiosorex dalquesti, or Dalquest's shrew, is an extinct species of shrew that was found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico during the Pleistocene and possibly the Holocene.
