A new species of non-native mammal has been confirmed for mainland Britain after a social media post led to the chance discovery of a greater white-toothed shrew in North-East England.
A photograph of a dead specimen of the shrew was posted on social media after it was killed by a cat in Sunderland.
The unusual looking, long-snouted shrew caught the eye of ecologist Ian Bond and subsequent DNA tests confirmed that it was a greater white-toothed shrew which is found across Western Europe and North Africa but up until now was not found in mainland UK.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/23/2022/11/greater-white-toothed-shrewPeekingcredit-Sam-Browett-fa94809.png?quality=90&resize=613%2C413" "\"\"")
The shrew was also discovered in Ireland nearly a decade ago where it was a similarly invasive species which has gone on to have a negative impact on Ireland’s native shrews as Allan McDevitt from the Mammal Society explains:
“This is a worrying development as this invasive shrew is clearly associated with the local disappearance of the native pygmy shrew in Ireland. It is known to outcompete other shrews so it is urgent that its distribution and potential impacts on other shrew species is quickly assessed.”
At this stage there is no indication of how the shrews came to Britain and research is underway to establish how they have arrived.
Main image: DNA analysis confirmed the presence of the greater white-toothed shrew in mainland Britain. © Ruth Carden