Alpine shrew? Switzerland (1 Viewer)

Hi everybody

Could this be an Alpine shrew? The tail looks fairly long in relation to the body and the underside of the tail is white. Found it at 1,600 metres a.s.l.

Thanks in advance
Tom

ps. A five franc coin is 31.45 mm across.

Perhaps the pictures are not good enough for a positive id or don't show enough of the relevant features. If I've calculated it correctly I make the head/body length to be 7.5cm and the tail length 5cm.

I probably should have mentioned that the animal was found in central Switzerland on the north side of the Alps which, when combined with the altitude of around 1,600m, should help to rule out some species. I'm not certain though as my only experience of shrews in Ireland was finding the odd Pygmy Shrew and having looked at a lot of shrew pictures they have all started to look the same to me. 😀


If it helps, the other options in Switzerland are

Pygmy Shrew. Seems too large to be a Pygmy Shrew.

Greater white toothed shrew. Tail (in pics) looks too long in relation to head/body length and also Greater white toothed shrew is usually found below 1,000m.

Common/Eurasian shrew. Tail looks too long.

Bicolored shrew. (Crocidura leucodon) Rare and think it's a lower altitude species.

Lesser white toothed shrew. Rare and think it's a lower altitude species.

Valais shrew. (Sorex antinorii) Found in southern Switzerland. The animal in the pics was found in central Switzerland on the north side of the Alps. Very similar to Common Shrew.

French shrew. (Sorex coronatus) Very similar to Common Shrew. Not certain but I think this species is unlikely in central Switzerland anyway.

If anyone can help to rule out some of the other possibilities, I'd appreciate it.

All the best
Tom

It is for sure a Sorex, which rules out 3 from your list. Based on tail length I would go for a Pygmy shrew, even though the given measurements are slightly larger than the maximum values reported.

Agree with pygmy shrew

Mark

Thank you both very much

All the best
Tom