Himalayan Shrew

Open encyclopedia reference

The Himalayan shrew (Soriculus nigrescens) is a species of shrew in the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews) and tribe Nectogalini. It is native to montane forest habitats in the southern Himalayas in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, ranging in altitude from 700 metres (2,300 ft) to 4,500 metres (14,800 ft). It is generally considered to be the only species in the genus Soriculus (though other potentially valid species in the genus were described in 2023 and 2024). The body size is relatively, large, the largest in Soriculus, at approximately 17.6 grams (0.62 oz). The fur colour varies from brown to black. The tail is relatively short, about half the length of the combined head and body. The forelimbs and their claws are relatively enlarged, suggesting fossorial (digging) habits for the species.

Wikipedia contributors, Himalayan shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:28:36.459334+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Soriculus nigrescens (Gray, 1842)

Name authority

(Gray, 1842)

Common name

Himalayan Shrew

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Eulipotyphla

Family

Soricidae

Genus

Soriculus

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderEulipotyphla Waddell, Okada & Hasegawa, 1999
12. familySoricidae G. Fischer, 1814
13. subfamilySoricinae G. Fischer, 1814
14. tribeNectogalini Anderson, 1879
15. genusSoriculus Blyth, 1854
16. speciesSoriculus nigrescens (Gray, 1842)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Soriculus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 289 records assigned to Soricidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=633825 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:4YCHS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.