CreatureData

Cinereus shrew

Sorex cinereus Kerr, 1792

LCLeast Concernmammals

The cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 4.5 g to 5.1 g and live up to 1.63 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus)
Photo: Original: rpoort ; this edit: MPF · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the cinereus shrew

Weight
4.5 g – 5.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
1.63 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
2.5 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
18.1 days – 21 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
6.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
7.96 months – 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.9src for Litters or clutches a year
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the cinereus shrew

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus)
Original: er-birds ; this edit: MPF · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the cinereus shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the cinereus shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The cinereus shrew or masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) is a small shrew found in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States. This is the most widely distributed shrew in North America, where it is also known as the common shrew.

From the Wikipedia article “Cinereus shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cinereus_shrew&oldid=1384684563), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the cinereus shrew endangered?

The cinereus shrew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the cinereus shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSorex
  7. SpeciesSorex cinereus Kerr, 1792

Synonyms Sorex arcticus cinereus

Other names and names in other languages (18)
  • Cinereus shrew (masked shrew)English
  • Common shrewEnglish
  • Common shrewEnglish
  • Maryland shrewEnglish
  • Masked shrewEnglish
  • Masked shrewEnglish
  • Masked shrewEnglish
  • Amerikanische Masken-RotzahnspitzmausGerman
  • ΣταχτομυγαλήGreek
  • Musaraña enmascaradaSpanish
  • amerikanpäästäinenFinnish
  • musaraigne cendréeFrench
  • Toporagno cenerinoItalian
  • マスクトガリネズミJapanese
  • GråspissmusNorwegian Bokmål
  • Amerikaanse Gemaskerde SpitsmuisDutch
  • Ryjówka popielataPolish
  • Масковая бурозубкаRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the cinereus shrew

Other species in the same genus Sorex.

CompareCinereus shrew vs Eurasian pygmy shrewCinereus shrew vs Common shrewCinereus shrew vs Laxmann's shrewCinereus shrew vs Eurasian least shrew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the cinereus shrew?

An adult cinereus shrew weighs 4.5 g – 5.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the cinereus shrew endangered?

The cinereus shrew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the cinereus shrew live?

The cinereus shrew has a recorded lifespan of 1.63 years.

How long is the cinereus shrew pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 18.1 days – 21 days.

What kind of animal is the cinereus shrew?

The cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus) belongs to the family Soricidae in the order Eulipotyphla.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cinereus-shrew

MLA

“Cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/cinereus-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{cinereus_shrew_2026,
  title = {Cinereus shrew (Sorex cinereus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/cinereus-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}