Bornean Water Shrew vs Common Orache

Chimarrogale phaeura compared with Atriplex patula

Key Differences

• Bornean Water Shrew is Endangered while Common Orache is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bornean Water Shrew	Common Orache
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)
Family	Soricidae	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Chimarrogale	Atriplex
Species	Chimarrogale phaeura	Atriplex patula

Conservation Status

Bornean Water Shrew

EN — Endangered

Common Orache

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bornean Water Shrew	Common Orache
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bornean Water Shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Common Orache

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia), Europe (13 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Chile).

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.

Common Orache

<em>Atriplex patula</em> is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae, distributed across Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, and Chile. It typically colonizes disturbed habitats, coastal areas, salt marshes, roadsides, agricultural fields, and waste ground, tolerating saline soils that many other species cannot withstand. The species is halophytic, possessing physiological adaptations for salt tolerance, including salt-excreting glands on its leaves. Its range extends across Georgia in Asia, thirteen European countries, and introduced populations in North America, Australia, and South America. Orache produces small, inconspicuous flowers and characteristic mealy-textured leaves. It is sometimes used as a leafy vegetable in traditional cuisine across parts of its native range. The IUCN lists this species as Least Concern given its widespread occurrence and adaptability to multiple habitat types. Biological traits including average lifespan, body measurements, and detailed dietary ecology remain poorly documented in standardized databases for this weedy annual species. <em>Atriplex patula</em> plays a functional role in stabilizing disturbed soils and contributing to coastal and ruderal plant communities across its broad distribution.