vs Eurasian Least Shrew

Clitocybe subspadicea compared with Sorex minutissimus

Key Differences

is Data Deficient while Eurasian Least Shrew is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Eurasian Least Shrew
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Tricholomataceae	Soricidae
Genus	Clitocybe	Sorex
Species	Clitocybe subspadicea	Sorex minutissimus

Conservation Status

DD — Data Deficient

Eurasian Least Shrew

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Eurasian Least Shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Eurasian Least Shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Russia, and Sweden.

Clitocybe subspadicea is an agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae native to temperate European forests. The species epithet subspadicea indicates a date-brown or chestnut-brown coloration ('spadiceus' meaning date-brown in Latin), somewhat darker than the whitish or pale grey tones typical of many Clitocybe species, making it more readily distinguished in the field. It fruits in autumn on forest floors of deciduous and mixed woodlands, where it decomposes leaf litter and organic matter as a saprotrophic fungus. The cap is depressed to funnel-shaped, gills are decurrent and crowded, and the stipe is cylindrical and slender, following the typical Clitocybe growth form. The darker pigmentation may reflect production of melanins or other pigment compounds providing protection against UV radiation or desiccation during fruiting. Documentation of species like C. subspadicea through careful field work and herbarium specimens contributes to understanding the remarkable macrofungal diversity of European temperate forests, where hundreds of agaric species perform essential ecological roles in energy flow and nutrient cycling.