The Madagascan pygmy shrew (''Suncus madagascariensis'') is a species of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

in the family Soricidae. It is the only known Malagasy shrew.

Taxonomy

Some taxonomists regard it as conspecific with the widely distributed

Etruscan shrew The Etruscan shrew (''Suncus etruscus''), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew or the white-toothed pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about on average. (The bumblebee bat is regarded as the smallest mammal ...

, the smallest known mammal by mass, and likely to have been introduced to Madagascar from India or Southeast Asia by humans.Omar, H.; Adamson, E.A.S.; Bhauur, S.; Goodman, S.M.; Soarimalala, V.; Hashim, R.; Ruedi, M. (2011)
Phylogenetic relationships of Malayan and Malagasy pygmy shrews of the genus ''Suncus'' (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences
. ''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology'' 59(2): 237–243. It is found in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and the

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

, at altitudes from sea level to 1500 m.

Distribution and habitat

It is thought to be more common in the less humid western and southern parts of Madagascar. This shrew may also be present on

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

. The species is found primarily in forests.

Diet and behaviour

It is presumed to be solitary,

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

, like its relatives. The litter size is one or two. It is threatened by logging and other forms of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

References

Suncus Mammals of Madagascar Endemic fauna of Madagascar Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Mammals described in 1848 Taxa named by Charles Coquerel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{whitetoothed-shrew-stub