NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Shrew
Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common shrew (Sorex araneus), also known as the Eurasian shrew, is the most common shrew, and one of the most common mammals, throughout Northern Europe, including Great Britain, but excluding Ireland. It is 55 to 82 millimetres (2.2 to 3.2 in) long and weighs 5 to 12 grams (0.2 to 0.4 oz), and has velvety dark brown fur with a pale underside. It is one of the rare venomous mammals. Juvenile shrews have lighter fur until their first moult. The common shrew has small eyes, a pointed, mobile snout and red-tipped teeth. It has a life span of approximately 14 months.
Shrews are active day and night, taking short periods of rest between relatively long bursts of activity.
Wikipedia contributors, Common shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:44.086550+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- Common Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Eulipotyphla
- Family
- Soricidae
- Genus
- Sorex
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
- familySoricidae G. Fischer, 1814
- subfamilySoricinae G. Fischer, 1814
- tribeSoricini G. Fischer, 1814
- genusSorex Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesSorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sorex. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona ShrewSorex arizonae Diersing & Hoffmeister, 1977 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kamchatka ShrewSorex camtschaticus Yudin, 1972 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Maryland shrewSorex fontinalis Hollister, 1911 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific ShrewSorex pacificus Coues, 1877 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pale-toothed ShrewSorex stizodon Merriam, 1895 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-bellied ShrewSorex ventralis Merriam, 1895 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Veracruz ShrewSorex veraecrucis Jackson, 1925 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Glacier Bay Water ShrewSorex alaskanus Merriam, 1900 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cinereus ShrewSorex cinereus Kerr, 1792 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Smoky ShrewSorex fumeus G. M. Miller, 1895 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| American Pygmy ShrewSorex hoyi Baird, 1857 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Paramushir ShrewSorex leucogaster Kuroda, 1933 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Sorex averini Zubko, 1937 Zubko, 1937 | synonym |
| Sorex grantii Barrett-Hamilton & Hinton, 1913 Barrett-Hamilton & Hinton, 1913 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=633779 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4YBZ2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.