Common Periwinkle vs Eurasian water shrew

Littorina littorea compared with Neomys fodiens

Key Differences

• Common Periwinkle is Least Concern while Eurasian water shrew is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Periwinkle	Eurasian water shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Littorinimorpha (Littorinimorpha)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Littorinidae	Soricidae
Genus	Littorina	Neomys
Species	Littorina littorea	Neomys fodiens

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Periwinkle and Eurasian water shrew share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Periwinkle

LC — Least Concern

Eurasian water shrew

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Periwinkle

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Found across Europe (4 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Common Periwinkle

Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden