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MammalingSpecies accountsHedgehogs and shrews › Soricidae

Malayan White-toothed Shrew

Crocidura malayana
LC · Least concern Eulipotyphla Soricidae
Activity
Variable (day and night)
Sociability
Solitary

Description

A shrew endemic to the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore, with a range so restricted that any local habitat loss directly impacts a large proportion of its global population.

How to identify it

A small shrew; distinguishing the Malayan White-toothed Shrew from related Crocidura species in the same region requires skull examination, given the slight external variation among species of the genus in Southeast Asia.

Signs and tracks

Like other shrews of its size, it leaves subtle tracks and signs that are rarely visible without trapping.

Habitat and range

Forest in the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore; a species endemic to this region.

Diet

Insectivorous; feeds on small invertebrates.

Behaviour

Exhibits the almost continuous activity typical of shrews due to its high metabolic rate.

Conservation

A species endemic to a small area, threatened by habitat loss, though classified as Least Concern in the most recent assessment.

Threats

Loss of forest habitat in the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore.

Other accounts in Soricidae

See all species accounts for hedgehogs and shrews · Full species index

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