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Species of mammal

The lesser white toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens) is a small species of shrew with a widespread distribution in Africa, Asia and Europe. Its preferred habitat is scrub and gardens and it feeds on insects, arachnids, worms, gastropods, newts and small rodents, though its diet usually varies according to the biotope where it lives. The lesser white toothed shrew subspecies Crocidura suaveolens balearica lives on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands.

The population found on the Isles of Scilly, off the south west coast of England, was once thought to be a sub species, Crocidura suaveolens cassiteridum, where it feeds almost exclusively on amphipods. Archaeological remains indicate that it was present on the islands in the bronze Age, so it may have been present before the Isles of Scilly became separated from the European continent, or may have migrated from the Channel Islands or Europe on board ships. Although if shrews had survived through the last glaciation or the Younger Dryas, it would seem that northerly distributed species such as Sorex araneus would have been more likely to survive, rather than a southerly distributed species such as Crocidura suaveolens. Ten years earlier H N Robinson found an unknown rodent at Old Town St Mary's and sent it to Mr F W Smalley "who had the largest collection of rodents in the country". In 2010, a Scilly shrew made headlines on BBC Cornwall when it stowed away on the passenger ferry RMV Scillonian III. It was only discovered as the ship was about to arrive in Penzance. The shrew was flown back to the Isles of Scilly the next day on a Skybus plane and then released back into its natural environment.