Bornean Water Shrew vs Climbingfig

Chimarrogale phaeura compared with Ficus pumila

Key Differences

Bornean Water Shrew is Endangered while Climbingfig is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bornean Water Shrew	Climbingfig
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Rosales (Roses & Allies)
Family	Soricidae	Moraceae
Genus	Chimarrogale	Ficus
Species	Chimarrogale phaeura	Ficus pumila

Conservation Status

Bornean Water Shrew

EN — Endangered

Climbingfig

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bornean Water Shrew	Climbingfig
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bornean Water Shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Climbingfig

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles), Asia (India, Singapore), Europe (Italy, Portugal, Spain), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Bornean Water Shrew

The Bornean Water Shrew (Chimarrogale phaeura) is a species in the genus Chimarrogale. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Climbingfig

Climbing Fig, Ficus pumila, is a small-leaved, self-clinging vine in the family Moraceae native to eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Vietnam, and adjacent regions. It attaches firmly to walls, tree trunks, and rock surfaces using adhesive root-like holdfasts that grip the substrate tightly. The juvenile foliage consists of small, heart-shaped leaves that cover the climbing surface densely, while adult foliage on mature, non-climbing branches is larger and leathery. Climbing Fig produces the characteristic enclosed fig inflorescences (syconia) on adult branches, filled with small flowers pollinated by specialized fig wasps in a tight co-evolutionary relationship. The small, fleshy figs are produced abundantly on mature plants and are eaten by birds and mammals, facilitating seed dispersal. The species is one of the most widely cultivated ornamental climbers in warm climates worldwide, used to clothe walls, fences, pergolas, and buildings in gardens across the Mediterranean, subtropical, and tropical regions. It can cause long-term damage to masonry when holdfasts penetrate cracks. In suitable warm climates outside its native range, Climbing Fig can escape cultivation and become naturalized. The species is not threatened in its native Asian range.