CreatureData

Common shrew

Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernmammals

The common shrew (Sorex araneus), also called the Eurasian shrew or Eurasian common shrew, is a mammal in the shrew family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. It is a small, terrestrial invertivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 10 g.

Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Photo: Manuel R. · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common shrew

Gestation lasts 21 days, litters average 6.6 young, and females have 1.9 litters per year, reaching sexual maturity at 330.5 days. Its lifespan is 2 years, up to 3.2 years, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

Weight
8.2 g – 10 gsrc for Weight
Length
5.5 cm – 8.2 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
2 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
3.2 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
19 days – 21 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
6.56src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
10.7 months – 11 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.9src 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

How big is the common shrew?

COMMON SHREW · LENGTH 8.2 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 8.2 cm, the recorded maximum length of the common shrew is about 4.8% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the common shrew

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

Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
W.carter · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
W.carter · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
W.carter · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
W.carter · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Tatiana Strus · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Tatiana Strus · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Tatiana Strus · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
TB0815 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Vertebrate Zoology Curator · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the common shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the common shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common shrew (Sorex araneus), also known as the Eurasian shrew, is the most common shrew, and one of the most common mammals, throughout Northern Europe, including Great Britain, but excluding Ireland. It is 55 to 82 millimetres (2.2 to 3.2 in) long and weighs 5 to 12 grams (0.2 to 0.4 oz), and has velvety dark brown fur with a pale underside. It is one of the rare venomous mammals. Juvenile shrews have lighter fur until their first moult. The common shrew has small eyes, a pointed, mobile snout and red-tipped teeth. It has a life span of approximately 14 months.

Shrews are active day and night, taking short periods of rest between relatively long bursts of activity.

From the Wikipedia article “Common shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_shrew&oldid=1314043634), 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 common shrew endangered?

The common 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 common shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSorex
  7. SpeciesSorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Sorex alticola, Sorex araneus, Sorex araneus, Sorex araneus, Sorex araneus bergensis, Sorex araneus garganicus, Sorex araneus hülleri, Sorex araneus silanus, Sorex araneus wettsteini, Sorex averini, Sorex bergensis, Sorex bohemicus, Sorex bolkayi, Sorex carpathicus, Sorex castaneus, Sorex concinnus, Sorex crassicaudatus, Sorex cskii, Sorex daubentoni, Sorex fretalis, Sorex grantii, Sorex hermanni, Sorex ignotus, Sorex iochanseni, Sorex labiosus, Sorex macrotrichus, Sorex melanodon, Sorex mollis, Sorex monsvairani, Sorex nuda, Sorex pallidus, Sorex personatus, Sorex petrovi, Sorex peucinus, Sorex pulcher, Sorex pyrenaicus, Sorex quadricaudatus, Sorex rhinolophus, Sorex santonus, Sorex tetragonurus, Sorex uralensis, Sorex vulgaris

Other names and names in other languages (25)
  • Eurasian common shrewEnglish
  • Eurasian common shrewEnglish
  • Eurasian shrewEnglish
  • Eurasian shrewEnglish
  • Llyg CyffredinWelsh
  • Llygon CyffredinWelsh
  • Almindelig spidsmusDanish
  • WaldspitzmausGerman
  • Musaraña ColicuadradaSpanish
  • metsäpäästäinenFinnish
  • Musaraigne carreletFrench
  • dallagScottish Gaelic
  • dallag-fheòirScottish Gaelic
  • dallaganScottish Gaelic
  • dallagan-feòirScottish Gaelic
  • Toporagno comuneItalian
  • krattspissmusNorwegian Bokmål
  • vanlig spissmusNorwegian Bokmål
  • BosspitsmuisDutch
  • Gewone bosspitsmuisDutch
  • vanleg spissmusNorwegian Nynorsk
  • snierttatNorthern Sami
  • vuovdespeaiskuNorthern Sami
  • vuovdevánddisNorthern Sami
  • vanlig näbbmusSwedish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common shrew

Other species in the same genus Sorex.

CompareCommon shrew vs Eurasian pygmy shrewCommon shrew vs Laxmann's shrewCommon shrew vs Eurasian least shrewCommon shrew vs Alpine shrew

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the common shrew?

The common shrew is a mammal of the family Soricidae in the order Eulipotyphla. It falls in the small size class.

How much does a common shrew weigh?

An adult common shrew weighs 10 g, with a lowest reported value of 8.2 g.

What does the common shrew eat?

The common shrew is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.

How long does a common shrew live?

The common shrew lives 2 years, with a highest reported lifespan of 3.2 years.

How many young does a common shrew have?

The common shrew has 6.6 young per litter and 1.9 litters per year, after a gestation period of 21 days.

When does a common shrew reach sexual maturity?

The common shrew reaches sexual maturity at 330.5 days, with reported values from 326 to 335 days.

Is the common shrew endangered?

No. The common shrew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

Who named the common shrew?

The common shrew, Sorex araneus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.

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). Common shrew (Sorex araneus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-shrew

MLA

“Common shrew (Sorex araneus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{common_shrew_2026,
  title = {Common shrew (Sorex araneus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}