CreatureData

Lesser dwarf shrew

Suncus varilla (Thomas, 1895)

LCLeast Concernmammals

The lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 4.99 g to 5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

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Quick facts about the lesser dwarf shrew

Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
3.4src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
8.34 monthssrc for Age at maturity
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

Where does the lesser dwarf shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the lesser dwarf shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla) is a species of mammal in the genus Soricidae. It is found in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It has a total length of only 9cm, making it one of the smallest shrews. Most of its fur is grey and its lower body is off-white. Not much is known about its behavior and habitat, since it is hard to capture. It's often found in and near termite mounds, where it nests in and probably also forages. It feeds on insects.

From the Wikipedia article “Lesser dwarf shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesser_dwarf_shrew&oldid=1378440990), 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 lesser dwarf shrew endangered?

The lesser dwarf 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.

How is the lesser dwarf shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSuncus
  7. SpeciesSuncus varilla (Thomas, 1895)

Synonyms Crocidura varilla

Other names and names in other languages (7)
  • Termite shrewEnglish
  • Kleiner DwergskeerbekAfrikaans
  • Zierliche ZwergspitzmausGerman
  • termiittipäästäinenFinnish
  • バリラジャコウネズミJapanese
  • Ryjówek drobnyPolish
  • Южноафриканская белозубкаRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the lesser dwarf shrew

Other species in the same genus Suncus.

DD, Data Deficient

Black shrew

Suncus ater

SoricidaeNo free photo yet

EN, Endangered

Day's shrew

Suncus dayi

SoricidaeNo free photo yet

CompareLesser dwarf shrew vs Etruscan shrewLesser dwarf shrew vs Asian house shrewLesser dwarf shrew vs Black shrewLesser dwarf shrew vs Anderson's shrew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser dwarf shrew?

An adult lesser dwarf shrew weighs 5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the lesser dwarf shrew endangered?

The lesser dwarf shrew 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 lesser dwarf shrew?

The lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla) 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). Lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-dwarf-shrew

MLA

“Lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-dwarf-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_dwarf_shrew_2026,
  title = {Lesser dwarf shrew (Suncus varilla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-dwarf-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}