---
title: "Eurasian Water Shrew"
description: "Neomys fodiens — Mamíferos. The Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), known in the United Kingdom as the water shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/eurasian-water-shrew
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eurasian Water Shrew

> Neomys fodiens — Mamíferos. The Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), known in the United Kingdom as the water shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again.

- Scientific name: *Neomys fodiens*
- Category: `mammals` (Mamíferos)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 1203
- Wikidata: [Q465986](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q465986)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46859](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46859)

## Names

- en: Eurasian Water Shrew
- de: Wasserspitzmaus
- es: Musgaño patiblanco
- fr: Crossope Aquatique
- nl: Waterspitsmuis
- pl: Rzęsorek rzeczek

## Countries with the most observations

GB (241), RU (178), DE (72), PL (41), DK (34), NO (34), CH (33), FR (27), FI (25), IT (24), UA (18), NL (16)

## Summary

The Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), known in the United Kingdom as the water shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It has short, dark fur, often with a few white tufts, a white belly, and a few stiff hairs around the feet and tail. It lives close to fresh water, hunting aquatic prey in the water and invertebrates nearby.
Like many shrews, the water shrew has venomous saliva, making it one of the few venomous mammals. It lives a solitary life and is found throughout the northern part of Europe and Asia, from Britain to Korea.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_water_shrew

## Photo

![Eurasian Water Shrew](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eurasian-water-shrew/medium.jpg)

Photo: Malcolm James Haddow · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/148022269

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eurasian-water-shrew?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).