The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Cryptotis'' is a group of relatively small

shrew Shrews ( family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to dif ...

s with short ears, which are usually not visible, and short tails, commonly called small-eared shrews. They have 30 teeth and are members of the

red-toothed shrew The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae (white-toothed shrews) and Myosoricinae (African white-toothed shrews). In addition, the family contains the extinct subfam ...

subfamily. Since 1992, Neal Woodman (in cooperation with Robert Timm) at the United States National Museum has been in the process of revising the genus. To date, this has resulted in an increase in the number of species from 12 to 30. Members of the genus are found mainly in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

; the

North American least shrew The North American least shrew (''Cryptotis parva'') is one of the smallest mammals, growing to be only up to 3 inches long. It has a long pointed snout and a tail never more than twice the length of its hind foot. The dense fur coat is eit ...

, ''C. parva'', is the only species found north of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The genus occurs as far south as northern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and as far east as western

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. It is the only soricomorph genus found south of

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. The limited diversity and restricted northern distribution of shrews in South America implies that the group entered the continent relatively recently from

, where they are more diverse, presumably as part of the

Great American Interchange The Great American Biotic Interchange (commonly abbreviated as GABI), also known as the Great American Interchange and the Great American Faunal Interchange, was an important late Cenozoic paleozoogeographic biotic interchange event in which land ...

. However, shrews have no fossil record in South America that would allow their arrival to be dated.

List of species

* Genus ''Cryptotis'' ** ''C. mexicana'' group *** Mexican small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis mexicana'') ***

Nelson's small-eared shrew Nelson's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis nelsoni'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to eastern Mexico. The species was discovered by Edward William Nelson and Edward Alphonso Goldman in 1894, who collected a number ...

(''Cryptotis nelsoni'') *** Grizzled small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis obscura'') *** Phillips's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis phillipsii'') ** ''C. goldmani'' group *** Central Mexican broad-clawed shrew (''Cryptotis alticola'') ***

Goldman's broad-clawed shrew Goldman's broad-clawed shrew (''Cryptotis goldmani'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Guatemala and Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost c ...

(''Cryptotis goldmani'') ***

Goodwin's broad-clawed shrew Goodwin's broad-clawed shrew (''Cryptotis goodwini'') is a species of mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for f ...

(''Cryptotis goodwini'') ***

Guatemalan broad-clawed shrew The Guatemalan broad-clawed shrew (''Cryptotis griseoventris'') is a species of small-eared shrew in the family Soricidae. It is known from Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, where it has been found in montane forests of oak, pine and ...

(''Cryptotis griseoventris'') *** ''

Cryptotis lacertosus ''Cryptotis lacertosus'' is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the no ...

'' *** ''

Cryptotis mam ''Cryptotis mam'' is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast ...

'' ***

Yalijux shrew The Yalijux shrew (''Cryptotis oreoryctes'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west ...

(''Cryptotis oreoryctes'') ***

Oaxacan broad-clawed shrew The Oaxacan broad-clawed shrew (''Cryptotis peregrina'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in the Mexican state of Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that comp ...

(''Cryptotis peregrina'') ** ''C. nigrescens'' group ***

Eastern Cordillera small-footed shrew The Eastern Cordillera small-footed shrew (''Cryptotis brachyonyx'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America ...

(''Cryptotis brachyonyx'') *** Colombian small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis colombiana'') *** Honduran small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis hondurensis'') *** Yucatan small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis mayensis'') *** Darién small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis mera'') *** Merriam's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis merriami'') *** Blackish small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis nigrescens'') ** ''C. thomasi'' group ***

Southern Colombian small-eared shrew The southern Colombian small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis andinus'') is a species of small-eared shrew native to Colombia. References Cryptotis Mammals described in 2023 {{Redtoothed-shrew-stub ...

(''Cryptotis andinus'') *** '' Cryptotis aroensis'' ***

Ecuadorean small-eared shrew The Ecuadorian small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis equatoris'') is a species of shrew in the family Soricidae. It is found on the western and eastern slopes of the Andes in central Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a coun ...

(''Cryptotis equatoris'') ***

Rainer's small-eared shrew Rainer's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis huttereri'') is a species of small-eared shrew The genus ''Cryptotis'' is a group of relatively small shrews with short ears, which are usually not visible, and short tails, commonly called small-eared s ...

(''Cryptotis huttereri'') *** Medellín small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis medellinia'') *** Merida small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis meridensis'') *** Wandering small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis montivaga'') *** Peruvian small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis peruviensis'') ***

Scaly-footed small-eared shrew The scaly-footed small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis squamipes'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bor ...

(''Cryptotis squamipes'') *** Tamá small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis tamensis'') *** Thomas's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis thomasi'') ** ''C. parva'' group *** Central American least shrew (''Cryptotis orophila'') ***

(''Cryptotis parva'') *** Tropical small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis tropicalis'') ** ungrouped/relict *** Enders's small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis endersi'') *** Talamancan small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis gracilis'') *** Big Mexican small-eared shrew (''Cryptotis magna'')

References

External links

{{Authority control Mammal genera