Atlas der Säugetiere Nordrhein-Westfalens

Feldspitzmaus

166 entries

Bicolored Shrew

Rote Liste NRW: V Vorwarnliste

  entry

Crocidura leucodon

The Bicoloured Shrew belongs to the white-toothed or fringed shrews. It can not only be recognized by these name-giving characteristic, but it also has ears that are clearly protruding from the fur and in contrast to the related Greater White-toothed Shrew is characterized by the clear separation of the dark back from the whitish underside. Bicoloured shrews live in the open field landscape as well as in the settlement areas. Places where organic waste is deposited also suit the species. The species is said to be thermophilic meaning it preferably occurs in areas that are characterized by warm and continentally influenced climate.

For the most part, the records in NRW rely on findings in barn owl pellets. However, there are also findings of dead individuals and occasionally the species is caught in traps. Nowadays, the western distributional limit of the species runs through Westphalia. The probably very variable population in the marginal area of the distribution is responsible for the impression that the western distributional limit is moving. So, for example, in Soest County the species is now well represented after many years without records. Unfortunately, more recent information is missing regarding the state of the population of the Bicoloured Shrew in the North of the administrative area Detmold. In north-western Westphalia, it needs to be clarified if there is a connection between the apparently isolated occurrence in the eastern Netherlands, the County Bentheim and the current distribution in Westphalia. The Eifel Mountains and the Münsterland and parts of the Sauerland, from whence there exists old to very old records of the Bicoloured Shrew, are certainly abandoned today.

Author

Henning Vierhaus

Citation

Vierhaus H (2025): Feldspitzmaus (Crocidura_leucodon).In: AG Säugetierkunde NRW — Online-Atlas of the mammals of North Rhine-Westphalia. Downloaded from saeugeratlas-nrw.lwl.org on 2025/05/01