Louisiana mammals

North American Least Shrew in Louisiana

Cryptotis parvus

Native to Louisiana S4 Apparently Secure in Louisiana

Not listed as nonindigenous in Louisiana by USGS NAS; native to its Louisiana 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 Louisiana, by the numbers

Occasional in Louisiana 40th most recorded of 72 mammals logged in Louisiana

919 occurrence records
18 with iNaturalist photos
Nov 12, 2025 Last seen in Louisiana

Records from 2000–2026.

919 total records count every Louisiana occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 475 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the North American Least Shrew in Louisiana

Most sightings fall in November to December.

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

Monthly Louisiana records (table)
MonthRecords
January68
February58
March39
April23
May10
June8
July2
August2
September0
October42
November117
December106

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Louisiana, with recorded sightings peaking in November–December.

Occurrence map

Where North American Least Shrew has been recorded in Louisiana

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Louisiana records mapped

Where it's recorded in Louisiana

CountyRecords
East Baton Rouge County 354
Lafayette County 71
St. Martin County 60
Acadia County 48
Cameron County 43
St. Landry County 37
Vernon County 31
Calcasieu County 21
Ouachita County 20
Vermilion County 18
Iberia County 18
Caldwell County 18
29 other counties 180

The complete county distribution, spread across 41 Louisiana counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

North American least shrews post one of the largest raw record counts in this Louisiana rank tier, 919 total, yet 913 of them come from GBIF rather than casual photographs, meaning trapping surveys, not people spotting the animal, built nearly the entire dataset for a species this tiny and secretive. NatureServe rates the population S4, apparently secure.

Records swing dramatically by season: November and December together account for 223 of the 919 sightings, close to a quarter of the total, while September shows zero records at all, a pattern that likely tracks the timing of major trapping surveys rather than any real seasonal shutdown in the shrew’s own activity, since this species doesn’t hibernate.

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 Louisiana in the atlas

Data & sources

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

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries