Eurasian Least Shrew

The Eurasian least shrew is the second smallest member of the shrew family after the Etruscan shrew. It reaches only about 4 centimetres in head-and-body length with a tail of about 2.5 centimetres and weighs 1.5–4 grams. Depending on the season the fur on the upper side is reddish-brown or grey-brown, with a marked boundary to the light grey underside. The tail is only sparsely haired. Not all of the described subspecies are generally accepted. (German Wikipedia, general species account)

The main range extends from Lapland across Russia to the Pacific coast, with scattered finds in other parts of Norway and Sweden. The southernmost occurrences are in central Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northeast China. The species uses varied habitats, including forests, bare mountain ranges and wetlands, and in winter it is often found in buildings (German Wikipedia, general species account). The Korean catalogue also records the Eurasian least shrew in South Korea.