Taxa
Soricidae
Family
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Soricidae is the shrew family, small mole-like mammals in the order Eulipotyphla. It comprises three hundred eighty five known species across twenty six genera, grouped into three living subfamilies, making it the fourth most species-diverse mammal family after the rodent families Muridae and Cricetidae and the bat family Vespertilionidae. Shrews are not rodents, despite a superficial mouse-like appearance; they have sharp spike-like teeth rather than gnawing incisors, and some species can echolocate or produce venom. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide, with notable historic absences from New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and South America.
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