The complete mitochondrial genome of the Sorex araneus

Abstract The Sorex araneus (common shrew), a member of the Soricidae family, is the most common shrew throughout Northern Europe. The region includes Great Britain, but excludes Ireland. Herein, we first publish the complete mitochondrial genome of S. araneus. The mitogenome is 16 887 bp in length, which contains 24 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and a control region. The overall GC content is 38.28%, which is lower than AT. To verify the accuracy and utility of new determined mitogenome sequences, a species phylogenetic tree is constructed based on the complete mitogenomes of the species and other 10 close species. The current data provide important resources for the research of S. araneus mitochondrial evolution and the species identification.