Nectogalini is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by th ...

water

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 diffe ...

s within the family Soricidae. As of late 2007, it consisted of six extant

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

and 25

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

, with some of the latter being further divided into subspecies.

Adaptation to semiaquatic life

Members of this tribe that are associated with a

semiaquatic In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below. Semiaquatic animals Semi aquatic animals include: * Ve ...

mode of life have developed several lifestyle adaptations. For example, some species in the

'' Chimarrogale'', '' Nectogale'', ''

Neomys The genus ''Neomys'' is a group of three Eurasian water shrews from the subfamily Soricinae of the family Soricidae. These shrews are found in most of Europe and parts of northern Asia, as well as Turkey and Iran. Its member species are: *Euras ...

'', and ''

Sorex The genus ''Sorex'' includes many of the common shrews of Eurasia and North America, and contains at least 142 known species and subspecies. Members of this genus, known as long-tailed shrews, are the only members of the tribe Soricini of the ...

'' have stiff hairs on the sides of their toes and feet, both on their fore and hind limbs. These increase the surface area of the feet, assisting in locomotion during swimming. In addition, species such as '' Neomys fodiens'' have developed elongated tails with the hairs forming a keel-like shape that is similar in function to a rudder when the animal is in the water.Churchfield, Sara, 1990. ''The Natural History of Shrews''. C. Helm/A & C Black, 178 pp.

Genera

'' Chimarrogale'' (6 species)
'' Chodsigoa'' (10 species)
'' Episoriculus'' (4 species)
'' Nectogale'' (monotypic)
''

'' (3 species)
'' Soriculus'' (monotypic)
†'' Asoriculus'' (3 species)

References

Red-toothed shrews Mammal tribes {{redtoothed-shrew-stub