CreatureData

Marsh shrew

Sorex bendirii (Merriam, 1884)

LCLeast Concernmammals

The marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 15.8 g to 16.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii)
Photo: Credit at source · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the marsh shrew

Weight
16.1 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
5src for Young per litter or clutch
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 marsh shrew

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

Marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii)
Ernest ET Seton for text by Merriam, C Hart, · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the marsh shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the marsh shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii), also known as the Pacific water shrew, Bendire's water shrew, Bendire's shrew and Jesus shrew, is the largest North American member of the genus Sorex (long-tailed shrews). Primarily covered in dark-brown fur, it is found near aquatic habitats along the Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to northern California. With air trapped in its fur for buoyancy, marsh shrews can run for three to five seconds on top of the water. It measures about 16 cm (6.3 in) in length, including a 7-centimetre (2.8 in)-long tail, and weighs an average of 14.5–16 g (0.51–0.56 oz). The marsh shrew's diet consists mainly of invertebrates, which it hunts on land and in the water. They are rare; their populations are thought to be in decline, and they are considered endangered in parts of their range.

From the Wikipedia article “Marsh shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marsh_shrew&oldid=1381764606), 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 marsh shrew endangered?

The marsh 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 marsh shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSorex
  7. SpeciesSorex bendirii (Merriam, 1884)

Synonyms Atophyrax bendirii

Other names and names in other languages (15)
  • Bendire's shrewEnglish
  • Bendire's water shrewEnglish
  • Pacific marsh shrewEnglish
  • Pacific marsh shrewEnglish
  • Pacific water shrewEnglish
  • Pacific water shrewEnglish
  • rejsek BendiriůvCzech
  • Pazifische SumpfspitzmausGerman
  • Musaraña de pantano del PacíficoSpanish
  • isoluhtapäästäinenFinnish
  • musaraigne de BendireFrench
  • ヌマトガリネズミJapanese
  • Pacifische SpitsmuisDutch
  • ryjówka bagiennaPolish
  • Водяная бурозубкаRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the marsh shrew

Other species in the same genus Sorex.

CompareMarsh shrew vs Eurasian pygmy shrewMarsh shrew vs Common shrewMarsh shrew vs Laxmann's shrewMarsh shrew vs Eurasian least shrew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the marsh shrew?

An adult marsh shrew weighs 16.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the marsh shrew endangered?

The marsh 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 marsh shrew?

The marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii) 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). Marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-shrew

MLA

“Marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{marsh_shrew_2026,
  title = {Marsh shrew (Sorex bendirii)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}