Animal Info - Flores Shrew

Suncus mertensi

Status: Critically Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Size and Weight, Habitat, Behavior, Social Organization)
5. References

Profile

Pictures: A related shrew (Suncus montanus) (58 Kb GIF) (The Shrew (-ist's) Site); A related shrew, the Pygmy White-toothed Shrew (Suncus etruscus), one of the smallest mammals in the world (18 Kb GIF) (The Shrew (-ist's) Site)

Shrews in the genus Suncus range widely in size, from about 20 - 100 mm (0.8 - 4")). The size of the Flores shrew has not been reported. Shrews in this genus are generally solitary and aggressive towards each other. The young sometimes travel by caravaning.

The Flores shrew is known only from Flores Island, Indonesia. It is thought to occupy a very small and decreasing area.

Tidbits

*** Shrews in the genus Suncus (including the Black Shrew and the Gabon Dwarf Shrew) are also known as "musk shrews" and "pygmy shrews". The Flores shrew is also referred to as a "long-tailed forest shrew."

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1996 - 2004: Critically Endangered (Criteria: B1+2c) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the Flores Shrew Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Indonesia (Flores Island) (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The Flores shrew is known only from Flores Island, Indonesia (IUCN 2004).

Threats and Reasons for Decline:

The Flores shrew is thought to occupy a very small and decreasing area.

Data on Biology and Ecology

Size and Weight:

Shrews in the genus Suncus range widely in size (head and body length: 20 - 100 mm (0.8 - 4")) and weight (2.5 - 106 g (0.1 - 3.8 oz)).

Habitat:

The Flores shrew is one of the species that live in the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl.).

Behavior:

Young shrews in the genus Suncus sometimes travel by caravaning.

Social Organization:

Shrews in the genus Suncus are generally solitary and aggressive towards each other.

References

Cons. Intl., IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Nowak 1999, The Shrew (-ist's) Site, Stone 1995, Wilson & Reeder 1993

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Last modified: January 3, 2005;