Jungle shrew
Suncus zeylanicus Phillips, 1928
The jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 29.8 g to 90.3 g and live up to 2.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the jungle shrew
- Weight
- 29.8 g – 90.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 2.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.24 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 30 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.05src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 36 dayssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 9.8src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the jungle shrew live?
Not recorded
What is the jungle shrew?
The jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus), also known as Sri Lankan shrew, is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
From the Wikipedia article “Jungle shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jungle_shrew&oldid=1382876006), 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 jungle shrew endangered?
The jungle shrew is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- 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 Endangered species.
How is the jungle shrew classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderEulipotyphla
- familySoricidae
- genusSuncus
- SpeciesSuncus zeylanicus Phillips, 1928
Other names and names in other languages (9)
- Ceylon jungle shrewEnglish
- Ceylon jungle shrewEnglish
- Sri Lankan shrewEnglish
- Sri Lankan shrewEnglish
- srilankanvähäpäästäinenFinnish
- ジャングルジャコウネズミJapanese
- Ryjówek dżunglowyPolish
- Kanu-miyaSinhala
- Mungi’ ElliTamil
Relatives of the jungle shrew
Other species in the same genus Suncus.
Etruscan shrew
Suncus etruscus
Asian house shrew
Suncus murinus
Black shrew
Suncus ater
Anderson's shrew
Suncus stoliczkanus
Day's shrew
Suncus dayi
Bornean pygmy shrew
Suncus hosei
CompareJungle shrew vs Etruscan shrewJungle shrew vs Asian house shrewJungle shrew vs Black shrewJungle shrew vs Anderson's shrew
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the jungle shrew?
An adult jungle shrew weighs 29.8 g – 90.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the jungle shrew endangered?
The jungle shrew is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the jungle shrew live?
The jungle shrew has a recorded lifespan of 2.5 years.
How long is the jungle shrew pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 30 days.
What kind of animal is the jungle shrew?
The jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus) 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.
- 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 - 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). Jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/jungle-shrew
“Jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/jungle-shrew.
@misc{jungle_shrew_2026,
title = {Jungle shrew (Suncus zeylanicus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/jungle-shrew},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}