Cardinal Click Beetle vs common shrew

Ampedus cardinalis compared with Sorex araneus

Key Differences

• Cardinal Click Beetle is Critically Endangered while common shrew is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cardinal Click Beetle	common shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Elateridae	Soricidae
Genus	Ampedus	Sorex
Species	Ampedus cardinalis	Sorex araneus

Evolutionary Relationship

Cardinal Click Beetle and common shrew share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cardinal Click Beetle

CR — Critically Endangered

common shrew

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cardinal Click Beetle	common shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cardinal Click Beetle

Habitat

Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

common shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

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

Cardinal Click Beetle

The Cardinal Click Beetle (Ampedus cardinalis) is a species in the genus Ampedus. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits temperate coniferous forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden