Photo by Jaroslav Vogeltanz
Fact file
Latin name
Crocidura suaveolens
Threat status
Least Concern (Global)
Least Concern (Europe)
Least Concern (UK)
Etymology
The Genus crocidura translates from greek as woolly tail and suaveolens translates to sweet smelling which is due to their distinctive musk (for which their old name refers to- the musk shrew),
Identifying features
Their dorsal side is often dark, grey/brown colour and underside is a silvery grey. They are recognisable due to their long tail hairs but are most well known for their white teeth which is unlike other rodents whose teeth are yellow-orange- hence the name of lesser white-toothed shrew.
Habitat
Live mostly in tall vegetation such a scrub or bracken but can also be found in hedgebanks and forest. They are also found around agricultural sites. On the islands of Jersey and Scilly, they can mostly be found in coastal habitats such as sand dunes.
Numbers
Maximum density of 1 per 30m² which gives an estimate of the population on Scilly as 99,000 from the Mammal Society Review of the Population and Conservation Status of British Mammals.
Distribution
Throughout Europe and Asia from northern China and Mongolia to Northern Spain, In the UK, they are only found on the Isles of Scilly (where it is designated as its own unique race of Scilly Shrew) and in the Channel islands of Sark and Jersey. There is also a small population on Menorca in the Baeleric islands.
Diet
They are true insectivores, eating mostly small insects.
Size
Head and body length of around 50-75mm and a tail length of 24-44mm. They can reach weights of 3-7g.
Life span
In the wild their life span is around 12-18 months with few making it through their second winter. They have been known to live up to 4 years in captivity.
Breeding
They breed from early spring (March) through to late summer (September). Very few individuals are sexually mature in the year of their birth preferring to wait to the next summer to start breeding. Females will produce 2-4 litters.
Survey techniques
They are often surveyed using live trapping techniques but due to their high metabolism are unable to stay in traps for long unless they are given food.
Courtesy of the BBC
The Scilly Shrew
The only place that Lesser white-toothed Shrew can be found is on the Isles of Scilly, for which there is a distinct race known as the Scilly Shrew. Unlike their continental cousins, they are mostly found on the sand dunes and can often be found feeding on springhoopers on the many beeches on the islands. It is believed that the shrew were taken to the Scilly Isles by French traders in the bronze age as bones have been found in archaeological digs of that period.
All Aboad
Like many other shrew species, the Lesser White-toothed shrew is known to caravan. This is a behaviour where mature pups follow their mother and each other by holding onto their mother above the tail and forming a ‘caravan’ behind her.