Asian House Shrew

Asian House Shrew
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Soricomorpha
Family:	Soricidae
Genus:	Suncus
Species:	S. murinus
Binomial name
Suncus murinus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Asian House Shrew range (blue — native, red — introduced)

The Asian House Shrew (Suncus murinus)Grey musk shrew, or the Asian Musk Shrew, is a widespread, adaptable species of shrew found mainly in South Asia but introduced widely throughout Asia.

This species is locally called Chuchunder and is mentioned in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, as a nocturnal inhabitant of houses in India, by the name of Chuchundra. However, Kipling's mistaken use of the name 'musk rat' has led to confusion with the unrelated North American muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), and the latter species, not found in India, was (erroneously) illustrated in the Jungle Book.

Distribution

Suncus murinus has an extremely wide range of distribution throughout the oriental region. In most of the range it was introduced by man. They are also found in eastern Africa, Madagascar, other islands in the Indian ocean (Reunion, Comoros), Pacific ocean (Guam, etc.), southern Japan, Asia, Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Kalimantan, Brunei and throughout Iran and Arabia to Egypt. It might also be present in New Guinea.

These shrews have a habit of running slowly along the edges of the walls when they enter human habitations. It is widespread and found in all habitats including deserts and human habitations. Studies on this shrew have suggested its suitability for use in laboratory studies.

The habitat of this species is normally near human settlement, specifically near the house. Some also live on the ground in leaf litter and grass. Apart from that, some of the species have been recorded up to 2825m near Darjeeling, West Bengal, but only to 300m in Taiwan.

Anatomy

Illustration of the habit of travelling in family parties from Edward Hamilton Aitken

They have uniform short dense fur of mid-grey to brownish-grey color. The tail is thick at the base and a bit narrower at the tip, and is covered with a few long, bristle-like hairs that are thinly scattered. They have short legs with five clawed toes. They have small external ears and an elongated snout. They also emit a strong odor of musk, derived from musk glands that are sometimes visible on each side of the body. The odor is especially noticeable during the breeding season.

Like all shrews, the Asian house shrew is is plantigrade and long-nosed. The teeth are a series of sharp points to poke holes in insect exoskeletons. It is the largest of the shrew species, weighing in at between 50 and 100 g and being about 15 cm long from snout to tip of the tail.

Behaviour

S. murinus is a commensal species. It is a voracious animal with little resistance to starvation. It is active during the day and night but only for a short period of time. This species is an insectivore. They breed throughout the year with each female averaging two litters per year, usually size three. It can be considered beneficial to humans because its diet consists mostly of harmful insects where it can be a biological pesticide. Despite this, they are often mistaken for rats or mice and killed as vermin, in part due to the strong odour of their droppings which they may deposit in human dwellings. This house shrew is categorized as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

References

• IUCN.(1995). Eurasian Insectivores and Tree Shrews-Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.108pp
• Vaughan, T. A. (1985). Family Sorcidae. In T. A. Vaughan, Mammalogy Third Edition (pp. 88–89). Arizona: Saunders College Publishing.