vs Eurasian water shrew

Chrysococcus minutus compared with Neomys fodiens

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while Eurasian water shrew is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Eurasian water shrew
Kingdom	Chromista (Chromista)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ochrophyta (Ochrophyta)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Chrysophyceae (Chrysophyceae)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Chromulinales (Chromulinales)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Dinobryaceae	Soricidae
Genus	Chrysococcus	Neomys
Species	Chrysococcus minutus	Neomys fodiens

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Eurasian water shrew

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Eurasian water shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Eurasian water shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

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

Chrysococcus minutus is a small loricate chrysophyte alga in the genus Chrysococcus, its epithet minutus (Latin: minute or very small) reflecting its diminutive cell dimensions. Like its congeners, the cell is enclosed within a lorica — a rigid, often silicified or organic housing with an apical pore through which the flagellum protrudes. The lorica shape and dimensions provide taxonomic characters for species differentiation within the genus. C. minutus inhabits freshwater environments, including oligotrophic lakes, bog pools, and slow-moving waters in temperate and subarctic regions. Chrysophytes thrive in cold, acidic, low-nutrient waters and serve as reliable bioindicators of water quality. The small cell size of C. minutus places it within the nanoplankton size class, making it an important prey item for heterotrophic nanoflagellates and small ciliates in the freshwater microbial food web. Some Chrysococcus species supplement photosynthesis with bacterivorous feeding. The species has not been evaluated for conservation status and is listed as Not Evaluated by the IUCN. Loricated chrysophytes like C. minutus leave fossil siliceous cysts (stomatocysts) in lake sediments, which are widely used in paleoecological reconstructions.

Eurasian water shrew

Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.