NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lesser Dwarf Shrew
Suncus varilla (Thomas, 1895)
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 lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla) is a species of mammal in the genus Soricidae. It is found in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It has a total length of only 9cm, making it one of the smallest shrews. Most of its fur is grey and its lower body is off-white. Not much is known about its behavior and habitat, since it is hard to capture. It's often found in and near termite mounds, where it nests in and probably also forages. It feeds on insects.
Wikipedia contributors, Lesser dwarf shrew; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:15.103143+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Suncus varilla (Thomas, 1895)
- Name authority
- (Thomas, 1895)
- Common name
- Lesser Dwarf Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Eulipotyphla
- Family
- Soricidae
- Genus
- Suncus
- 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
- subfamilyCrocidurinae A. Milne-Edwards, 1872
- genusSuncus Ehrenberg, 1832
- speciesSuncus varilla (Thomas, 1895)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Suncus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Day's ShrewSuncus dayi (Dobson, 1888) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Etruscan ShrewSuncus etruscus (Savi, 1822) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sri Lanka ShrewSuncus fellowesgordoni W. W. A. Phillips, 1932 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Least Dwarf ShrewSuncus infinitesimus (Heller, 1912) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Malayan Pygmy ShrewSuncus malayanus (Kloss, 1917) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jungle ShrewSuncus zeylanicus Phillips, 1928 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bornean Pgymy ShrewSuncus hosei (Thomas, 1893) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nilgiri Highland ShrewSuncus niger Horsfield, 1851 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taita ShrewSuncus aequatorius (Heller, 1912) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black ShrewSuncus ater Medway, 1965 | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Greater Dwarf ShrewSuncus lixa (Thomas, 1898) | SoricidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Climbing ShrewSuncus megalurus (Jentink, 1888) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Crocidura varilla Thomas, 1895 Thomas, 1895 | 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=633737 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:53G68. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.