biology

List of soricines

List of soricines is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of soricines rather than just read about it. In short: Soricinae is a subfamily of small mammals in the shrew family Soricidae, which in turn is part of the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called a soricine or a red-toothed shrew.

Key takeaways

List of soricines belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of List of soricines from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Soricinae is a subfamily of small mammals in the shrew family Soricidae, which in turn is part of the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called a soricine or a red-toothed shrew. Soricinae is one of three subfamilies in Soricidae, along with the white-toothed shrews of Crocidurinae and the African shrews of Myosoricinae. They are found in Europe, Asia, North America, and northern South America, primarily in forests, shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands, and also in rocky areas and deserts. They range in size from the Eurasian pygmy shrew, at 3 cm (1 in) plus a 3 cm (1 in) tail, to various members of the Chimarrogale genus, at 14 cm (6 in) plus a 13 cm (5 in) tail. Soricines primarily eat insects and other invertebrates, as well as small vertebrates and plants. No soricines have population estimates, but 6 species are categorized as endangered species: the Bornean water shrew, Darién small-eared shrew, Enders's small-eared shrew, Guatemalan broad-clawed shrew, Sierra de Aroa shrew, and Pribilof Island shrew. Additionally, the Nelson's small-eared shrew, San Cristobal shrew, and Sclater's shrew are categorized as critically endangered. The 158 extant species of Soricinae are divided into 13 genera; 76 of them are in Sorex and 41 in Cryptotis, with the remaining 41 species divided between the other 11 genera. A few extinct prehistoric soricines have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.

Conventions

The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the soricine's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification The shrew subfamily Soricinae consists of 158 extant species in 13 genera. The majority of the species are contained within Cryptotis, with 41 species, and Sorex, with 76 species. The remaining shrews are split between Chodsigoa with eight species; Chimarrogale with six; Anourosorex, Episoriculus, Neomys, and Notiosorex with four species each; Blarina and Blarinella with three species each, and Megasorex, Nectogale, and Soriculus each with a single species. Subfamily Soricinae

Genus Anourosorex (Asian mole shrews): four species Genus Blarina (short-tailed shrews): three species Genus Blarinella (Asian short-tailed shrews): three species Genus Chimarrogale (Asiatic water shrews): six species Genus Chodsigoa (Asiatic shrews): eight species Genus Cryptotis (small-eared shrews): 41 species Genus Episoriculus (brown-toothed shrews): four species Genus Megasorex (Mexican shrew): one species Genus Nectogale (Elegant water shrew): one species Genus Neomys (water shrews): four species Genus Notiosorex (gray shrews): four species Genus Sorex (long-tailed shrews): 76 species Genus Soriculus (Himalayan shrew): one species

Soricines The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.

References

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of soricines

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of soricines claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of soricines before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of soricines ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of soricines

In research: List of soricines appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of soricines in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of soricines is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of animal species, Lists of eulipotyphlans, Red-toothed shrews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of soricines outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of soricines in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is List of soricines in simple terms?

Soricinae is a subfamily of small mammals in the shrew family Soricidae, which in turn is part of the order Eulipotyphla. A member of this family is called a soricine or a red-toothed shrew.

Why does List of soricines matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of soricines?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of soricines.