Blind Small-eared Shrew vs Coast Groundling

Cryptotis niausa compared with Caryocolum vicinella

Key Differences

• Blind Small-eared Shrew is Data Deficient while Coast Groundling is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blind Small-eared Shrew	Coast Groundling
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Soricidae	Gelechiidae
Genus	Cryptotis	Caryocolum
Species	Cryptotis niausa	Caryocolum vicinella

Evolutionary Relationship

Blind Small-eared Shrew and Coast Groundling share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Blind Small-eared Shrew

DD — Data Deficient

Coast Groundling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blind Small-eared Shrew	Coast Groundling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blind Small-eared Shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

Coast Groundling

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Blind Small-eared Shrew

The Blind Small-eared Shrew (Cryptotis niausa) is a species in the genus Cryptotis. It is currently classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Coast Groundling

Coast groundling (Caryocolum vicinella) is a small moth in the family Gelechiidae, native to coastal sand dunes and sandy coastal habitats of northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Like other members of the large and taxonomically complex genus Caryocolum, the larvae are leaf miners or feeders on specific plant hosts in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae), often specialising on coastal species such as sea campion (Silene uniflora) or related plants in coastal dune systems. Adults are small, narrow-winged moths with pale ochre, brown, or grey patterning, flying at dusk and nocturally in summer. The species is associated with open, mobile or semi-stabilised coastal dunes with abundant larval host plants. Coast groundling is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. However, like many gelechiid moths restricted to coastal dune habitats, it may be sensitive to habitat changes caused by dune stabilisation, scrub encroachment, and reduced management of sand dune systems. Long-term population trends are difficult to assess given the cryptic nature of the species.