CreatureData

Incan caenolestid

Lestoros inca (Thomas, 1917)

LCLeast Concernmarsupials

The incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca) is a species in the family Caenolestidae, order Paucituberculata. Recorded adults weigh 21.1 g to 25.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca)
Photo: Credit at source · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the incan caenolestid

Weight
21.1 g – 25.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Litters or clutches a year
1src 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

Where does the incan caenolestid live?

Not recorded

What is the incan caenolestid?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca), also known as the Incan shrew opossum or Peruvian caenolestid, is a caenolestid found in the southern Peruvian Andes. It was first described by English zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1917. The head-and-body length ranges from 9 to 11.5 centimetres (3.5 to 4.5 in), and the weight is between 25 and 32 grams (0.88 and 1.13 oz). It is brown on the back, and lighter on the underside. Little is known about the behaviour of the Incan caenolestid; it appears to be terrestrial and nocturnal. It feeds on small invertebrates and insects. This caenolestid inhabits elfin and secondary forests. The IUCN classifies it as least concern.

From the Wikipedia article “Incan caenolestid” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Incan_caenolestid&oldid=1368594218), 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 incan caenolestid endangered?

The incan caenolestid 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 incan caenolestid classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderPaucituberculata
  5. familyCaenolestidae
  6. genusLestoros
  7. SpeciesLestoros inca (Thomas, 1917)

Synonyms Orolestes inca

Other names and names in other languages (22)
  • Incan shrew opossumEnglish
  • Incan shrew opossumEnglish
  • Incan shrew-opossumEnglish
  • Peruvian shrew opossumEnglish
  • أبوسوم الإنكا الزبابيArabic
  • Minoc'h-oposom inkaBreton
  • Opòssum rata incaCatalan
  • vačík inkaCzech
  • Peruanische OpossummausGerman
  • Peru-OpossummausGerman
  • Peruanisches MausopossumGerman
  • LestorosSpanish
  • inkasupiaisopossumiFinnish
  • Cénolestidé du PérouFrench
  • ペルーケノレステスJapanese
  • Opossum ġurdiem ta' geddumu twil PeruvjanMaltese
  • PeruinkaspissmusNorwegian Bokmål
  • PeruopossummuisDutch
  • rozbójnik inkaskiPolish
  • Rato-marsupial-peruanoPortuguese
  • Inka runchuQuechua
  • Перуанский ценолестRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the incan caenolestid

Other species in the same family Caenolestidae.

CompareIncan caenolestid vs Dusky caenolestidIncan caenolestid vs Long-nosed caenolestidIncan caenolestid vs Gray-bellied caenolestidIncan caenolestid vs Andean caenolestid

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the incan caenolestid?

An adult incan caenolestid weighs 21.1 g – 25.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the incan caenolestid endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the incan caenolestid?

The incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca) belongs to the family Caenolestidae in the order Paucituberculata.

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). Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/incan-caenolestid

MLA

“Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/incan-caenolestid.

BibTeX
@misc{incan_caenolestid_2026,
  title = {Incan caenolestid (Lestoros inca)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/incan-caenolestid},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}