Sorex murinus Linnaeus, 1766 Suncus sacer Ehrenberg, 1832 The Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) is a shrew species native to South and Southeast Asia that has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 because of its large population and wide distribution.

[4] Sorex murinus was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 for a house shrew from Java.

The tail is thick at the base and a bit narrower at the tip, and is covered with a few long, bristle-like hairs that are thinly scattered.

[8] The Asian house shrew is native to South and Southeast Asia and was introduced by humans to eastern Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, the Philippines and other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Predators also leave the house shrew alone because of its musky smell and even when they catch one by mistake they will rarely eat it.

In general it is beneficial to humans because its diet consists mostly of harmful insects such as cockroaches, and even house mice.

[11] Despite its use as an insect control, it can be unpopular due to the strong odour of its droppings, which it may deposit in human dwellings behind kitchen cupboards, etc.