Florida mammals

North American Least Shrew in Florida

Cryptotis parvus

Native to Florida SNR Unranked in Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; native to its Florida range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

North American least shrew moving through short grassNorth American least shrew on exposed soilNorth American least shrew in dry grass
Photo: Lauren McLaurin · CC-BYNorth American least shrew moving through short grassPhoto: Dan Johnson · CC-BYSide view of a least shrew with the compact body and pointed snout visible.Photo: novvictan · CC-BYDark-backed least shrew partly hidden in thatch-like ground cover.

North American Least Shrew in Florida, by the numbers

Common in Florida 38th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

1,535 occurrence records
56 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 30, 2026 Last seen in Florida

Records from 2000–2026.

1,535 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,166 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the North American Least Shrew in Florida

Most sightings fall in February.

1,166 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January119
February220
March68
April117
May94
June57
July82
August105
September64
October83
November83
December74

Monthly north american least shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in February.

Occurrence map

Where North American Least Shrew has been recorded in Florida

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park 5
Welaka State Forest 5
Everglades National Park 3
Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area 3
Colt Creek State Park 1
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station 1
Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge 1
Terra Ceia Preserve State Park 1

Protected places with the most north american least shrew sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Marion County 541
Alachua County 278
Miami-Dade County 112
Citrus County 109
Indian River County 55
Leon County 54
Highlands County 46
Osceola County 28
Putnam County 26
Polk County 24
Hillsborough County 24
Brevard County 23
40 other counties 215

The complete county distribution, spread across 52 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

The state’s only named site for the North American least shrew is Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, though shrews this small and secretive don’t stay confined to one preserve. A one-site record list says more about where surveys have concentrated than about the shrew’s real Florida range.

February holds the year’s highest report count, with January and April not far behind. Winter and early spring reports may simply reflect when small-mammal surveys and trapping happen most, rather than any true seasonal peak in shrew activity.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

North American least shrew moving through short grass
Full species profile North American Least Shrew Cryptotis parvus Size 5–8 cm2–3.1 in Weight 6 g0.2 oz Lifespan Up to 3.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: