Suncus etruscus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	EULIPOTYPHLA	SORICIDAE

Scientific Name:

Suncus etruscus

Species Authority

(Savi, 1822)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Etruscan Shrew, Pygmy White-toothed Shrew, Savi's Pygmy Shrew, White-toothed Pygmy Shrew
French	–	Pachyure Étrusque
Spanish	–	Musarañita

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Aulagnier, S., Hutterer, R., Jenkins, P., Bukhnikashvili, A., Kryštufek, B. & Kock, D.

Evaluator/s:

Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Cox, N. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Justification:
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, it occurs in a number of protected areas, has a tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

History:

2004	–	Least Concern (IUCN 2004)
1996	–	Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is widespread from Southern Europe and North Africa, through parts of the Near East and Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, South Asia and mainland Southeast Asia, to the island of Borneo in the east. In Europe, it is confined to the Mediterranean climate zone, occurring on the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas as well as on a number of Mediterranean islands. There is an established introduced population in the Canary Islands (Tenerife). In North Africa it is present in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. In the eastern Mediterranean it is present on the island of Cyprus, and is distributed in parts of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. In the Caucasus it is found in Azerbaijan, Georgia and possibly Armenia. The species has been recorded from Yemen, Oman, Iraq and possibly Iran. In Central Asia, it is present in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and possibly Uzbekistan. In South Asia, the species is known from much of Afghanistan and Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. In China it has only been recorded from Gengma County in southwestern Yunnan. In Southeast Asia, the species has been recorded from Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Viet Nam and Peninsular Malaysia, with some populations present on the island of Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak only). West and East African records (Guinea [not mapped here], Nigeria and Ethiopia [not mapped here]) are doubtful and need confirmation (Hutterer 2005). It occurs from sea level to altitudes of 3,000 m asl.
Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Egypt; Ethiopia; France; Georgia; Greece; Guinea; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Jordan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Lebanon; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malaysia; Malta; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Portugal; Slovenia; Spain; Sri Lanka; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Thailand; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Viet Nam; Yemen Presence uncertain: Andorra; Armenia; Brunei Darussalam; Gibraltar; Indonesia; Kuwait; Monaco; Uzbekistan
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	In Europe it tends to be less common than other shrews living in same area, as indicated by both trapping experiments and analyses of owl pellets (Libois and Fons 1999). Trapping is not so effective for catching this species because the shrew is too small (less than two grams); it is often more commonly seen in owl pellets (V. Vohralík pers. comm. 2006). The species is considered to be rare in Jordan. In Azerbaijan, the species is considered rare in semi-deserts and foothill and mountain steppes. It is included in the Red Data Book of Georgia (1982) as a rare or endangered species. In a preliminary status of the terrestrial mammals of Oman, the species was Data Deficient. In Southeast Asia it is never abundant in any given locality at any time.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Population:

In Europe it tends to be less common than other shrews living in same area, as indicated by both trapping experiments and analyses of owl pellets (Libois and Fons 1999). Trapping is not so effective for catching this species because the shrew is too small (less than two grams); it is often more commonly seen in owl pellets (V. Vohralík pers. comm. 2006). The species is considered to be rare in Jordan. In Azerbaijan, the species is considered rare in semi-deserts and foothill and mountain steppes. It is included in the Red Data Book of Georgia (1982) as a rare or endangered species. In a preliminary status of the terrestrial mammals of Oman, the species was Data Deficient. In Southeast Asia it is never abundant in any given locality at any time.

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	In the Mediterranean region it prefers abandoned olive groves, vineyards, and other cultivated areas overrun by Mediterranean shrubs, but occurs also in gardens, low maquis, scrub, and open forest of Mediterranean oaks and pines, provided that old dry stone walls are available as shelters. It avoids sand dunes, dense forests, and intensively cultivated land (Libois and Fons 1999, Palomo and Gisbert 2002). In Lebanon, it has been recorded living in both semi-arid and moist habitats, and has been collected on the edge of pine woods and in olive groves (Harrison and Bates 1991). In South Asia it can be found in both temperate and tropical forests, sometimes close to houses and other buildings (Molur et al. 2005). Southeast Asia, it is found in a wide variety of both pristine and degraded habitats. It is more active during night than day, with a peak at dawn. Anecdotal information suggests after a gestation period of 28 days, four to six young are born.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

In the Mediterranean region it prefers abandoned olive groves, vineyards, and other cultivated areas overrun by Mediterranean shrubs, but occurs also in gardens, low maquis, scrub, and open forest of Mediterranean oaks and pines, provided that old dry stone walls are available as shelters. It avoids sand dunes, dense forests, and intensively cultivated land (Libois and Fons 1999, Palomo and Gisbert 2002). In Lebanon, it has been recorded living in both semi-arid and moist habitats, and has been collected on the edge of pine woods and in olive groves (Harrison and Bates 1991). In South Asia it can be found in both temperate and tropical forests, sometimes close to houses and other buildings (Molur et al. 2005). Southeast Asia, it is found in a wide variety of both pristine and degraded habitats. It is more active during night than day, with a peak at dawn. Anecdotal information suggests after a gestation period of 28 days, four to six young are born.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to this species as a whole.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species as a whole.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species is present in many protected areas. It is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention.

Conservation Actions:

This species is present in many protected areas. It is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention.

Citation:	Aulagnier, S., Hutterer, R., Jenkins, P., Bukhnikashvili, A., Kryštufek, B. & Kock, D. 2008. Suncus etruscus. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 November 2008.
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