CreatureData

Mount Lyell shrew

Sorex lyelli Merriam, 1902

LCLeast Concernmammals

The mount lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 4.4 g to 5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the mount lyell shrew

Weight
4.4 g – 5 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
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 mount lyell shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the mount lyell shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) is a shrew (family Sorcidae) endemic to California and found in the central Sierra Nevada and Mono County at altitudes up to 3630 meters. It is named for Mount Lyell in Yosemite National Park, where a specimen was first collected in 1901. Observations of the Mount Lyell shrew have been rare, and a specimen was only first photographed live in 2024. The Mount Lyell shrew was the last known mammal in California to be photographed live. An adult Mount Lyell shrew grows to about 8.9 to 10cm in length, including its long tail. The Mount Lyell shrew is grey-brown and externally similar to other Sierran shrews, but is distinguishable because of the shape and coloration of its teeth. The Mount Lyell shrew has been found in varied habitats which are usually near a water source in high-elevation areas in the central Sierra Nevada and parts of the eastern Sierra, and as it has not been frequently observed, its behaviors, habitat, and range are still a topic of study.

From the Wikipedia article “Mount Lyell shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Lyell_shrew&oldid=1380066832), 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 mount lyell shrew endangered?

The mount lyell 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 mount lyell shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSorex
  7. SpeciesSorex lyelli Merriam, 1902

Synonyms Sorex lyellz, Sorex tenellus lyelli

Other names and names in other languages (8)
  • Lyell shrewEnglish
  • Mt. Lyell shrewEnglish
  • Mt. Lyell shrewEnglish
  • rejsek lyellskýCzech
  • lakipäästäinenFinnish
  • ライエルトガリネズミJapanese
  • Mount LyellspitsmuisDutch
  • ryjówka kalifornijskaPolish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the mount lyell shrew

Other species in the same genus Sorex.

CompareMount Lyell shrew vs Eurasian pygmy shrewMount Lyell shrew vs Common shrewMount Lyell shrew vs Laxmann's shrewMount Lyell shrew vs Eurasian least shrew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the mount lyell shrew?

An adult mount lyell shrew weighs 4.4 g – 5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the mount lyell shrew endangered?

The mount lyell 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 mount lyell shrew?

The mount lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) 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.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mount-lyell-shrew

MLA

“Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mount-lyell-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{mount_lyell_shrew_2026,
  title = {Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mount-lyell-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}