Altai Onion vs common shrew

Allium altaicum compared with Sorex araneus

Key Differences

  • Altai Onion is Near Threatened while common shrew is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Altai Onion common shrew
Kingdom Plantae (Plants) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants) Chordata (Chordates)
Class Liliopsida (Monocots) Mammalia (Mammals)
Order Asparagales (Asparagales) Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family Amaryllidaceae Soricidae
Genus Allium Sorex
Species Allium altaicum Sorex araneus

Conservation Status

Altai Onion

NT — Near Threatened

common shrew

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Altai Onion common shrew
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Altai Onion

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

common shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Altai Onion

The Altai Onion (Allium altaicum) is a species in the genus Allium. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

common shrew

<em>Sorex araneus</em>, the common shrew, is a small insectivorous mammal in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla, widely distributed across Europe and portions of the United States and Russia. This species inhabits a broad range of terrestrial environments including woodland, grassland, scrubland, hedgerows, and suburban gardens, typically favoring areas with dense ground cover providing both shelter and hunting opportunities. <em>Sorex araneus</em> is among the smallest mammals, with an exceptionally high metabolic rate that necessitates nearly continuous feeding to survive — it must consume close to its own body weight in food each day. Its diet consists primarily of invertebrates including earthworms, beetles, spiders, and other small arthropods found in leaf litter and soil. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with large and stable populations across its range. Biological traits for this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature in terms of precise standardized averages for lifespan, body length, and weight across populations, though it is known to be a short-lived species with typical wild lifespans of around one year, and is widely studied as a model organism in ecological and physiological research.

Nature FYI Family

Explore more of the natural world across our sister sites.

Part of the Nature FYI family — FYIPedia