The Malayan Water Shrew (Chimarrogale hantu), also known as the Hantu Water Shrew, is a red-toothed shrew

Red-toothed shrew

The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae and Myosoricinae . In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies Limnoecinae, Crocidosoricinae, Allosoricinae and Heterosoricinae...

 recorded only from the Malaysian state of Selangor

Selangor

Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...

. It was listed as a critically endangered, but is now considered near threatened.

It gets its scientific name hantu from the Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 word for ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

.

Anatomy

The Malayan Water Shrew has a white underside, a black coat along its top and sides and a fringe of bristles running along the surface of the tail and on the paws which act as swimming aids. Teeth have red tips and the Malayan Water Shrew can grow up to about 10 cm in height and 20 cm in length.

Habitat

The Malayan Water Shrew lives in the Tropical Rainforests of Peninsula Malaysia. It lives mainly by fresh water lakes and rivers surrounded by vegetation and spends much of its time underwater. Underwater this shrew likes to stay in leafy areas to avoid predators and surprise its prey, which include fish, frogs and plants.