#0237 · 🦊 mammals

Northern Short-tailed Shrew

🇳🇱 Kortstaartspitsmuis ·Blarina brevicauda

LCleast concern 🦊 Mammals 📍 outside Europe

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The northern short-tailed shrew ( Blarina brevicauda ) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina , and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda , is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda , meaning "short tail".

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 17,860iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
17,860 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Thomas Say in 1823 (203 years ago).