Saturday 1 November 2008

Asian House Shrew (Suncus murinus)

OTHER NAMES: House Shrew, Grey Musk Shrew, Money Shrew
Latin Etymology: Suncus (?) murinus ("mouse")

Adult Asian House Shrew (subspecies S. m. murinus) at Malacca, Malaysia - July 2016

Featured Subspecies: Surus murinus murinus
Weight: 50-100g  /  Length: 15cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Asian House Shrew is the largest of all the shrews - a species originally from the Indian Subcontinent and South-East Asia.   It has also however subsequently been introduced to various other locations including Madagascar, the Phillipines and various points along the East Coast of Africa.  As the name suggests, it tends to live near human habitation. When it has offspring, they form a line behind it known as a "caravan" when moving around, with each biting onto the fur ofthe next.  This particular individual had fallen into a storm drain and was being attacked by crows which flew off when I went to see what they were pecking at.  It got a fair distance but I hope it managed to escape.

Related Species:
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Suncus
SUBSPECIES: S. m. albicauda, S. m. auriculata, S. m. caeulescens, S. m. crassicaudus, S. m. duvernoyi, S. m. geoffroyi, S. m. griffithii, S. m. kandianus, S. m. leucura, S. m. mauritiana, S. m. murinus, S. m. sacer, S. m. soccatus, S. m. tytleri

 - Sighting Locations -
MALAYSIA - Malay - Cencurut Rumah ("House Shrew")
A fairly common but secretive resident
 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: A single individual in Malacca

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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