Asian house shrew vs Coelacanth

Suncus murinus compared with Latimeria chalumnae

Key Differences

• Asian house shrew is Least Concern while Coelacanth is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian house shrew	Coelacanth
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)
Family	Soricidae	Latimeriidae
Genus	Suncus	Latimeria
Species	Suncus murinus	Latimeria chalumnae

Evolutionary Relationship

Asian house shrew and Coelacanth share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Asian house shrew

LC — Least Concern

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asian house shrew	Coelacanth
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	100 years
Average Length	—	1.8 m
Average Weight	—	80.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian house shrew

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (Russia), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands).

Coelacanth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Asian house shrew

The Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) is a species in the genus Suncus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types. Populations are also found. Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (Russia), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands).

Coelacanth

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇰🇲 Comoros