Greater White-toothed Shrew

Greater White-toothed Shrew
Greater White-toothed Shrew[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Soricomorpha
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Crocidura
Species: C. russula
Binomial name
Crocidura russula
(Hermann, 1780)

The Greater White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura russula) is a small shrew found in Europe and North Africa. Its preferred habitats are grassland and woodland. It is slightly larger than the Lesser White-toothed Shrew but otherwise very similar, and can often be distinguished only by close inspection of its teeth.

In April 2008, the Greater White-toothed Shrew was discovered in Ireland.[3] While the introduction of the species will possibly sustain threatened birds of prey, such as the Barn Owl, the nonnative mammal could threaten some of the smaller native species, such as the Eurasian Pygmy Shrew.[3]

References

  1. ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 248. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ Hutterer, R. (2004). Crocidura russula. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 2006-05-05. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
  3. ^ a b "For Good Or Ill, Ireland Gains Another Mammal Species". Science Daily. 2008-04-28. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428071113.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-07.