CreatureData

Tundra shrew

Sorex tundrensis Merriam, 1900

LCLeast Concernmammals

The tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) is a species in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla. Recorded adults weigh 7.73 g to 8.19 g and live up to 1.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis)
Photo: Andrew Hope, USGS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the tundra shrew

Weight
7.73 g – 8.19 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
1.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Gestation
17 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
6.69src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
11.4 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

Where does the tundra shrew live?

Not recorded

What is the tundra shrew?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) is a small shrew found in Alaska, the northern Yukon Territory, the MacKenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, extreme northwestern British Columbia and eastern Russia. At one time, this animal was considered to be a subspecies of the Arctic shrew (Sorex arcticus).

It is dark brown on its back with pale brown sides and grey underparts. Its tail is brown on top and lighter brown below. Its fur grows longer for winter. Its body is about 12 centimetres (4.7 in) in length including a 4 centimetres (1.6 in) long tail. It weighs about 11 grams (0.39 oz).

This animal is found on hillsides with shrubs or grassy vegetation or dry ridges near marshes or bogs. It eats insects, worms and grasses. Predators include hawks and owls. This animal is active day and night year-round, burrowing through the snow in winter. It mates during the spring. 4 to 8 young are born in a nest under a log or in a crevice.

From the Wikipedia article “Tundra shrew” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tundra_shrew&oldid=1327114837), 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 tundra shrew endangered?

The tundra 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 tundra shrew classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderEulipotyphla
  5. familySoricidae
  6. genusSorex
  7. SpeciesSorex tundrensis Merriam, 1900
Other names and names in other languages (15)
  • TUNDRA SHREWEnglish
  • rejsek tundrovýCzech
  • Tundra-RotzahnspitzmausGerman
  • Musaraña de TundraSpanish
  • tundrapäästäinenFinnish
  • Musaraigne de la toundraFrench
  • Toporagno della tundraItalian
  • ツンドラトガリネズミJapanese
  • Тундра жертесеріKazakh
  • 툰드라뒤쥐Korean
  • Tsarmiin AtaahaiMongolian
  • ToendraspitsmuisDutch
  • Ryjówka tundrowaPolish
  • Тундряная бурозубкаRussian
  • 阿拉斯加鼩鼱Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the tundra shrew

Other species in the same genus Sorex.

CompareTundra shrew vs Eurasian pygmy shrewTundra shrew vs Common shrewTundra shrew vs Laxmann's shrewTundra shrew vs Eurasian least shrew

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the tundra shrew?

An adult tundra shrew weighs 7.73 g – 8.19 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the tundra shrew endangered?

The tundra shrew is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the tundra shrew live?

The tundra shrew has a recorded lifespan of 1.5 years.

How long is the tundra shrew pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 17 days.

What kind of animal is the tundra shrew?

The tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) 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). Tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tundra-shrew

MLA

“Tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tundra-shrew.

BibTeX
@misc{tundra_shrew_2026,
  title = {Tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tundra-shrew},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}