Etruscan shrew
Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822)
The etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) is a mammal in the shrew family Soricidae, subfamily Crocidurinae, within the order Eulipotyphla. It is a tiny animal with an adult body mass of 2.13 g, and our sources report adults weighing up to 2.33 g.
Quick facts about the etruscan shrew
This nocturnal, terrestrial invertivore lives in shrubland habitat. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 2.13 g – 2.33 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 4 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 2.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.24 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 27 days – 31 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.96src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 7.5 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the etruscan shrew?
Photos of the etruscan shrew
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the etruscan shrew live?
Not recorded
What is the etruscan shrew?
The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew, white-toothed pygmy shrew and Savi's pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about 1.8 g (0.063 oz) on average - as much as a paperclip. (The bumblebee bat is regarded as the smallest mammal by skull size and body length.)
The Etruscan shrew has a body length of about 4 cm (1.6 in) excluding the tail. It is characterized by very rapid movements and a fast metabolism, eating about 1.5–2 times its own body weight per day. It feeds on various small vertebrates and invertebrates, mostly insects, and can hunt individuals of the same size as itself. These shrews prefer warm and damp climates and are widely distributed in the belt between 10° and 45°N latitude stretching from Europe and North Africa to Malaysia. They are also found in the Maltese islands, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Although widespread and not threatened overall, they are generally uncommon and are endangered in some countries.
From the Wikipedia article “Etruscan shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Etruscan_shrew&oldid=1380596530), 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 etruscan shrew endangered?
The etruscan shrew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the etruscan shrew classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderEulipotyphla
- familySoricidae
- genusSuncus
- SpeciesSuncus etruscus (Savi, 1822)
Synonyms Pachyura etrusca, Podihik etruscus, Sorex etruscus
Other names and names in other languages (48)
- Madagascan pygmy shrewEnglish
- Madagascan shrewEnglish
- Pygmy white-toothed shrewEnglish
- Pygmy white-toothed shrewEnglish
- Savi's pygmy shrewEnglish
- Savi's pygmy shrewEnglish
- Savi’s pygmy shrewEnglish
- White-toothed pygmy shrewEnglish
- White-toothed pygmy shrewEnglish
- زباب اتروسكانArabic
- زباب سافى القزمArabic
- Етруска земеровкаBulgarian
- বামন চিকাBangla
- Mussaranya etruscaCatalan
- bělozubka madagaskarskáCzech
- bělozubka nejmenšíCzech
- EtruskerspitzmausGerman
- ΕτρουσκομυγαλήGreek
- MusaraSpanish
- MusarañitaSpanish
- Musgaño enanoSpanish
- vähäpäästäinenFinnish
- madagaskarinvähäpäästäinenFinnish
- Musaraigne étrusqueFrench
- Pachyure étrusqueFrench
- חדף זעירHebrew
- Ճստիկ սպիտակատամArmenian
- MustioloItalian
- コビトジャコウネズミJapanese
- Көптicтi жертесерKazakh
- 사비왜소땃쥐Korean
- 에트루리아땃쥐Korean
- Cencurut TerkecilMalay
- PygméspissmusNorwegian Bokmål
- WimperspitsmuisDutch
- Ryjówek etruskiPolish
- Musaranho-anão-de-dentes-brancosPortuguese
- Белозубка-малюткаRussian
- Карликовая белозубкаRussian
- Карликовая многозубкаRussian
- Этрусская землеройкаRussian
- Многозубка-малюткаRussian
- etruščanska rovkaSlovenian
- หนูผีจิ๋วThai
- Cüce BöcekçilTurkish
- Cüce SivrifareTurkish
- Etrüsk BöcekçiliTurkish
- Etrüsk SivrifaresiTurkish
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the etruscan shrew
Other species in the same genus Suncus.
Asian house shrew
Suncus murinus
Black shrew
Suncus ater
Anderson's shrew
Suncus stoliczkanus
Day's shrew
Suncus dayi
Bornean pygmy shrew
Suncus hosei
Flores shrew
Suncus mertensi
CompareEtruscan shrew vs Asian house shrewEtruscan shrew vs Black shrewEtruscan shrew vs Anderson's shrewEtruscan shrew vs Day's shrew
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How much does an etruscan shrew weigh?
An adult Etruscan shrew weighs 2.13 g, and our sources report adults of up to 2.33 g.
What does the etruscan shrew eat?
The etruscan shrew is an invertivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the etruscan shrew endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does an etruscan shrew live?
The etruscan shrew has a lifespan of 2.7 years, and our sources report up to 3.2 years.
How many young does an etruscan shrew have?
The etruscan shrew has 3.96 young per litter and 3.4 litters per year, after a gestation period of 27.9 days.
What kind of animal is the etruscan shrew?
The etruscan shrew is a mammal of the family Soricidae in the order Eulipotyphla.
Who named the etruscan shrew?
The etruscan shrew, Suncus etruscus, carries the authority (Savi, 1822).
What are other names for the etruscan shrew?
Other English names include Savi's pygmy shrew, Madagascan shrew, Madagascan pygmy shrew and White-toothed pygmy shrew.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/etruscan-shrew
“Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/etruscan-shrew.
@misc{etruscan_shrew_2026,
title = {Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/etruscan-shrew},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}