In The Shadows - Christmas Island Shrew

This is an original artwork of a Christmas Island Shrew that is Critically Endangered with the scientific name of Crocidura trichura. The artwork is titled “In The Shadows” and captures the Shrew at the forest floor beside the roots of a tree.

Extremely rare, thought extinct, with only two seen in a century, the last sighting purely by accident in 1985. They like living in plateau rainforests with deep soil. They feed on small beetles and use holes in rocks as well as tree roots for shelter. It is most probable that the introduction of Yellow Crazy Ants to Christmas Island has decimated their habitat. The scene depicts a Christmas Island Shrew in their natural habitat at the roots of a tropical forest.

This was part of a solo exhibition in which I painted twenty portraits of twenty Australian native animals that are disappearing - a tiny selection of the 10,000+ species worldwide that are extinct or facing extinction. To add accuracy and relevancy you will find a guide on the right hand panel of each of these artworks. The line indicates the size of the animal and a circle with capital letters alongside it will state is classification categorised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Painted with acrylic on wood panel it measures 30cm x 42cm x 2cm /12” x 16.5” x 0.75”. It is signed and dated.