greater white-toothed shrew-(Crocidura russula)
Order: Eulipotyphla
Recognition:
Shrews are distinguished from other small mammals due to their long, pointed, mobile snout. The greater white toothed shrew is a large shrew with a yellowish-grey underside, and greyish-red on the top. They can grow to a length of 44-86mm, with a tail of 24-47mm. They weigh approximately 5-16g. They are readily distinguished from other species of shrews by their bright white teeth because they have no iron deposits. Whereas our native shrew species have red-brown-orange tips- with the exception of lesser white toothed shrews which are found on the Isles of Scilly, Jersey and Sark.
The other distinguishing features of the greater white toothed shrew is their prominent ears. Other shrew species don't have readily visible ears and these are quite small.
Find out more about key ID features on our Shrew Appeal webpage.
Did you know?:
One of the main reasons we know this species is present in the UK is due to domestic cats bringing their owners presents. Committee member Dave Hudson’s cat Lola is particularly good at catching them and this is why we have confirmed records in Newquay. Do you think your furry friend might have caught a greater-white toothed shrew? Let us know!
We've got an app coming soon for reporting sightings which will be verified by one of our experts.
Lies Van Rompaey
Survey Methods:
Small mammal trapping. Cat kill records. Owl pellet analysis. Incidental sightings.
The main surveying method for shrews is dissecting owl pellets which can be done all year round. Small mammal trapping should only be carried out by people experienced in the survey technique and is only allowed under licence. It is also important to remember as a non-native species it is worth considering ethically if they should be re-released into the wild. And technically legally it shouldn’t be released back into the wild.
Conservation:
Greater white toothed shrews are a non-native species in the UK and therefore the conservation concern with respect to this species is there potential impact on our native species.
In Ireland (first discovered in 2007) greater white toothed shrews have out competed and displaced Irelands’ native pygmy shrews. Greater white toothed shrews are three times larger than the pygmy shrew so can more readily eat available insects. There is a concern if the greater white toothed shrew spreads to the same extent in the UK (first discovered in the UK in 2021 and in Cornwall in 2025) then the same thing would happen. The first greater white toothed shrew in England was originally found by a cat named Jeff, in Sunderland in 2021.
Distribution:
With confirmed records in County Durham, Nottingham, and now Newquay, we really need help to fill in the county map for the distribution of this shrew. Get involved here with the cat app or alternatively if you don’t have a cat check out the Mammal Society Searching for Shrews page for other ways to get involved. Searching for Shrews — Mammal Society
Like other native shrew species they are insectivores, meaning that they primarily feed on a range of invertebrates. These include caterpillars, snails, slugs, woodlice, and spiders. In the winter they rely on earthworms but occasionally have been observed eating larger animals such as small rodents, lizards and amphibians.
They are a semi-social species and therefore live in close proximity to each other, they have also been found to nest together. They tend to nest under stones, logs or inside abandoned burrows, making open saucer-shaped nests from dry grass. Mated pairs will guard their territory together and are monogamous. Their breeding season is from March to September and females have up to 4 litters of 2-10 young during this period, which both parents care for. Shrewlets stay in the territory until the following breeding season and reach maturity at 50-78 days old. Greater white tooth shrews exhibit female-biased dispersal, which is relatively rare for mammals. Females disperse away from where they are born to find new territories, it is thought this is to prevent inbreeding.
Greater white toothed shrews are mainly active in the day. Their main predators are barn owls, stoats and domestic cats. When alarmed they are very vocal and will make high pitched squeaks, they also snuffle and twitter when foraging.
Owl pellet Wildreturn
