Cyrenaica shrew Cyrenaica shrew The Cyrenaica shrew or Alexander's shrew ("Crocidura aleksandrisi") is a species of white-toothed shrew in the family Soricidae which is endemic to Libya. The Cyrenaica shrew is a small shrew which is very similar to the widespread lesser white-toothed shrew of Europe and Asia, both species have teeth which lack the red colouration on the crowns of the teeth. They are small mammals with paler fur underneath and a pointed muzzle and a long tail. The Cyrenaica shrew is endemic to Libya, specifically to the province of Cyrenaica where it is found from sea level up to 200
Greeks in Russia and the Soviet Union from Central Asia and Georgia. Today most Greeks in the former USSR speak Russian, with a significant number speaking their traditional Pontic Greek. Pontian is a Greek dialect that derives from the ancient Ionic Greek dialect and resembles ancient Greek more than the modern "demotic" Greek language. Until recently, the ban on teaching Greek in Soviet schools meant that Pontian was spoken only in a domestic context. Consequently, many Greeks, especially those of the younger generation, speak Russian as their first language. Linguistically, Greeks are far from being unified. In Ukraine alone, there are at least five documented Greek linguistic